Bahrain will host the World Para Powerlifting Championships for the first time this year, with action beginning on 27 November with the Rookie & Next Gen Worlds, followed by the Elite World Championships from 28 November to 5 December.
World Para Powerlifting (WPPO) has confirmed the competition dates and announced that the events will take place at the Art Hotel & Resort Amwaj.
Bahrain 2026 marks the first time WPPO will stage World Championships in three consecutive years, following Cairo 2025 and ahead of the Mexico 2027 Worlds, with the host city still to be announced.
It will be the 12th edition of the Elite World Championships and the eighth to be held in Asia. The Rookie & Next Gen Worlds will take place for the sixth time since it became a standalone event at Mexico City 2017.
China topped the medals table at the most recent edition in 2025 with 13 medals, including eight golds. Nigeria and Iran followed with three and two gold medals, respectively. Hosts Egypt also impressed with two golds among their five medals to finish fourth overall. A total of 516 athletes from 66 delegations competed at the Elite Worlds in Cairo.
The provisional timetable and events programme for Bahrain 2026 will be released after the final entries-by-name deadline. Entries will open on 1 August and close on 20 October. The competition schedule will remain subject to change until the Bahrain 2026 Technical Meeting.
More information about the World Championships can be found on the World Para Powerlifting Events page.
We’re going to Bahrain in 2026! 🌍💪
The 12th World Para Powerlifting Championships will take place in Manama, December 2026!
For the first time ever, WPPO will host Worlds in three straight years! 🏋️♂️✨
Read more 🔗 https://t.co/oLWGjUv3bL#Bahrain2026 #ParaPowerlifting pic.twitter.com/1P9kly6y7r
— Para Powerlifting (@Powerlifting) October 17, 2025
Host cities and editions of the World Para Powerlifting Championships:
1994 Uppsala (Sweden)
1998 Dubai (UAE)
2002 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
2006 Busan (South Korea)
2010 Kuala Lumpur (Malaysia)
2014 Dubai (UAE)
2017 Mexico City (Mexico)*
2019 Nur-Sultan (Kazakhstan)*
2021 Tbilisi (Georgia)*
2023 Dubai (UAE)*
2025 Cairo (Egypt)*
*also includes Rookie & Next Gen World Championships
