The BMW IBU World Championships Lenzerheide 2025 was officially opened this evening with biathlon’s flagship competition set to get underway tomorrow in the winter sport heartland of Switzerland for the very first time.

From 12 to 23 February close to 300 athletes from 34 countries will compete across 12 medal events in front of tens of thousands of passionate fans at Lenzerheide’s Roland Arena. The Roland Arena has developed rapidly over the last 20 years, from a basic shooting range to a world-class venue ready to host this year’s World Championships. In recent years the venue has hosted the IBU Cup, IBU Youth Junior World Championships, IBU Open European Championships and last December, Switzerland’s first-ever BMW IBU World Cup.

The Championships will boast unprecedented exposure in Switzerland with Swiss broadcasters SRF (German), RTS (French), and RSI (Italian), all offering full coverage of the event for the first time and significantly increasing the sport’s visibility. A total of 27 rights holders, reaching audiences in 53 territories across Europe will broadcast the event.

IBU President Olle Dahlin said:

"For the first time in our sport’s history, we are preparing to enjoy our flagship competition here in Switzerland. Switzerland is country with a very proud winter sport heritage but also a very exciting biathlon future. Over the last 20 years Lenzerheide and biathlon in Switzerland has seen a tremendous development and we are thrilled to see the next steps in this development with hosting a fantastic World Championships with incredible athlete performances and unforgettable competitions."

The competitions in Lenzerheide begin tomorrow, 12 February, 14:30 (CET) with the Mixed Relay. In what will be the final World Championships of his incredible career, Johannes Thingnes Boe (NOR) has the chance to become the biathlete with the most World Championship titles to his name. He is currently tied with his compatriot Ole Einar Bjoerndalen at 20 World Championship gold medals each - a victory tomorrow, or in any other competition during this fortnight, would see him as the lone record-holder.

For the full competition programme, see below (all times in CET):

Wednesday, 12 February

14:30 Mixed Relay (W+M)

Friday, 14 February

15:05 Women 7.5km Sprint

Saturday, 15 February

15:05 Men 10km Sprint

Sunday, 16 February

12:05 Women 10km Pursuit

15:05 Men 12.5km Pursuit

Tuesday, 18 February

15:05 Women 15km Individual

Wednesday, 19 February

15:05 Men 20km Individual

Thursday, 20 February

16:05 Single Mixed Relay (W+M)

Friday, 21 February

Hall of Fame

Saturday, 22 February

12:05 Women 4x6km Relay

15:05 Men 4x7.5km Relay

Sunday, 23 February

13:45 Women 12.5km Mass Start

16:05 Men 15km Mass Start

Photo: Manzoni/IBU