What this event is
Three cities on the Silk Road
World Aquatics is staging the 2026 Swimming World Cup as a “Silk Road Tour” dedicated to the historic trade route. The tour has three stops: Baku, Tashkent and Astana.
The Baku leg opens the tour and is the first World Aquatics event in Azerbaijan. The competition runs for three days — 1, 2 and 3 October — at the Aquatic Palace.
Across the whole tour more than 750 athletes from over 50 nations are expected.
In numbers
“Baku 2026”
Format and prize money
USD 1.2 million and a ticket to Beijing
The total prize pool of the tour is USD 1.2 million (excluding bonuses). Every swimmer who sets a world record receives an additional USD 10,000.
A new wild card system is being introduced: a swimmer finishing in the top three with an A standard time at any stop earns direct qualification for the short course (25 m) World Championships in Beijing. Each member federation may enter up to three additional swimmers in Beijing.
Stars
Who we will see in Baku
According to the federation, at the Baku leg fans will be able to watch leading swimmers of the world — Cameron McEvoy, Qin Haiyang and Siobhán Haughey — compete live.
The meet is held in short course and forms part of the build-up to the short course World Championships in Beijing later in the year.
Tour stops
Baku → Tashkent → Astana
Baku, Azerbaijan
1–3 October · Aquatic Palace · the tour opener
Tashkent, Uzbekistan
8–10 October · the city's first international swimming meet
Astana, Kazakhstan
15–17 October · the closing leg of the tour
Tickets
How to attend
Tickets are issued both as QR codes and in paper form. Paper tickets are sold at box offices around the city; QR tickets are activated on the day of the competition.
The venue is the Baku Aquatic Palace, Sabail district, 15 Academician Ahad Yagubov Street. The stands seat 6,000 spectators.
“With just one month to go, we are immensely proud and excited to host the World Cup in Baku. It will also inspire more children and young people to get involved in aquatic sports.”
Zaur Aliyev, ASF President