Event Timetable

DateStartRaceArenaWOC Tour raceWOC Tour start
Thursday 11 July10:00Model EventWarmup race15:00
Friday 12 July09:00Sprint QualificationLeith LinksUrban sprint race11:30
Friday 12 July14:00Opening CeremonyPrinces Street Gardens
Friday 12 July15:00Sprint FinalsPrinces Street Gardens
Saturday 13 JulyRest DayIndoor race10:30
Sunday 14 July12:40Sprint RelayOriam, Riccarton CampusUrban and campus middle race15:15
Monday 15 JulyRest DayUrban long race
10:30
Tuesday 16 July09:00Knock‑out Sprint QualificationWester HailesUrban sprint race11:00
Tuesday 16 July15:00Knock-out Sprint FinalsSt. John Street, Edinburgh

Come and support the athletes!

Friday 12 July: Leith

Sprint Qualification Round

Join us on Leith Links from 09:00 for the the exciting opening to the World Orienteering Championships.

The qualification races take place from 09:00 until 11:00 and, with runners starting every minute, you are assured of great views of the world’s top orienteers running in to the finish line at the race arena on the beautiful Leith Links.

With leading times separated by mere seconds, competitors must make lightning-fast decisions and execute their chosen routes without hesitation, all while running as quickly as they can.  The fastest athletes in the sprint competition have recorded 5,000 metre times on the track of under 14 minutes, so high-speed racing is guaranteed.

With courses with winning times predicted to be under 15 minutes in Leith, every second counts as athletes race to secure their place in the finals later in the day.

If you’re not too tired after watching the elite action, then you can watch the public races immediately afterwards!

Friday 12 July: West Princes Street Gardens

Opening Ceremony & Sprint Finals

We look forward to seeing you at the Ross Bandstand in West Princes Street Gardens at 14:00 for the official opening ceremony of the World Orienteering Championships.

The Sprint race finals take place immediately afterwards from 15:00 until 18:00 and there will be plenty to do and see in Princes Street Gardens, including a free orienteering maze to have a go at!

The big screen in the gardens will supplement the live action of runners nearby so you can follow what is going on at the more distant parts of the courses.

This afternoon will see runners racing through commercial and residential areas, both historical and modern, with narrow vennels and complex housing schemes providing a variety of orienteering challenges.

This afternoon’s courses will be hillier in the centre of town but we still expect the winners to be taking less than 15 minutes to secure their gold medals.

Sunday 14 July: Riccarton Campus, Heriot-Watt University

Sprint Relay Race

We look forward to seeing you at Riccarton for the Sprint Relay race at 12:45pm. Parking and bus travel to the event is to Hermiston Park and Ride from where you can follow the signs to the race arena.

The Sprint Relay was first introduced in 2014. Each country can enter one mixed-gender team of two men and two women, running in the order woman-man-man-woman.

Each team member races their course individually before handing over to the next runner, with the first team to cross the finish line being the winner. To stop athletes forming a pack and following one another, there are several slight variations to the courses. To keep it fair, each team runs all the different variations, just not necessarily in the same order.

The Sprint Relay sees athletes having to make split-second decisions on which route to take under the extreme pressure of head-to-head racing.  Each leg of the race will take the leading teams roughly 14 minutes so the whole event is over within an hour.  After a short pause to cool down, medals will be presented at 14:30.

Access to the race arenas is free every day and you can watch the action live and follow along on the big screen!

After the World Champions are decided there will be public races in the same area.

Tuesday 16 July: Wester Hailes

Knock-out Sprint Qualification Race

The Knock-out Sprint race is the newest format of orienteering where athletes race several short sprints on the same day.

The Qualification Race is a short sprint race with courses that are shorter than Friday’s. The winners will take just 9 minutes to complete their courses so there is no room for error.

Runners will start every minute between 09:00 and 11:00 so there will be plenty of action to see at the race arena at Canal View Primary School in Wester Hailes.

Only the fastest runners will progress to the Finals taking place later the same day in the centre of Edinburgh.

The public races afterwards will take the form of sprint races but most people will take a little longer than the elite athletes they’ve watched earlier!

Tuesday 16 July: Central Edinburgh

Knock-out Sprint Finals

Join us in St John’s Street, in central Edinburgh for the culmination of the World Orienteering Championships – the Knock-out Sprint Finals.

Following the qualification round, athletes select which quarter-final they would like to run in (in a pre-defined order). Usually there are 6 athletes in each quarter-final.

Quarter-finals start at 14:25 and each race takes roughly 7 minutes to complete.

The top three from each quarter-final progress to the semi-finals which start just after 16:00 and again the top three move on to the final.

The women’s final is scheduled to start just after 17:30 and the men’s final roughly 20 minutes later – they both promise to be a great spectacle to watch!

Plan to come along and see the athletes in person as they race past and watch the more remote action on the big screen with a live commentator.

The medals will be presented shortly afterwards and then the official closing ceremony will see the IOF flag passed on to the next hosts – Finland.

Try Maze Orienteering...

Join us in Princes Street Gardens on Friday 12 July from 13:00 until 17:00 to watch all the action and have a go at orienteering in our very own maze.

From Saturday 13 July until Monday 15 July the maze will be up in The Meadows from 11:00 until 15:00 and you can have another go as well as taking part in the mini-courses and other orienteering activities.

Suitable for all ages and all free!

Watching at home

If you can’t come to Edinburgh this July you can still follow all the action live.


Live results and GPS tracking will be available for each of the races.

As well as links to free GPS tracking, start lists, live and final results, and photos, IOF Live has paid-for live web streams of the races.

The Sprint Qualification race is also being broadcast free on YouTube by the IOF as is the Knock-out Sprint Qualification.

The national television stations in Sweden (SVT), Norway (NRK), Finland (YLE), Czechia (CzTV) and Austria (ORF) have acquired the TV rights.

In addition, IOF’s partnership with the European Broadcasting Union means that the competitions can be watched for free on the streaming platform Eurovision Sport in the United Kingdom, Ireland, France, Belgium, Germany and Austria (KO Sprint on ORF) with English, French and German commentary.

Heart Research UK's Heart of Scotland Appeal

The Heart of Scotland Appeal works towards research and community projects in Scotland aimed at reducing the number of people affected by heart diseases. Currently 48 people a day die from cardiovascular disease in Scotland.

The Heart of Scotland Appeal is the Official Charity Partner of WOC 2024, and aims to raise awareness of the risks of heart diseases amongst the orienteering community, promoting heart health through exercise. The partnership will also help raise funds and awareness for the Heart of Scotland appeal, with all money raised distributed to research projects across Scotland.