The European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships 2027 will take place from 19-22 May, European Aquatics has confirmed, with Alghero preparing to welcome the continent’s top open water swimmers to the coast of the island of Sardinia.

Alghero was named host of the Championships during a handover ceremony at the European Aquatics Championships Paris 2026, when European Aquatics General Secretary Noam Zwi passed the European Aquatics flag to the city’s Mayor, Raimondo Cacciotto.

Alghero 2027 will be the 23rd European Aquatics Open Water Swimming Championships, and the ninth to be staged as a standalone event rather than as part of the wider European Aquatics Championships. It follows on from Paris 2026 and Stari Grad 2025.

Sardinia is no stranger to major open water competition. Golfo Aranci hosted the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming World Cup in 2023, which was the first World Aquatics open water event ever held in Italy, and has since welcomed the World Cup again in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Alghero itself hosted the World Aquatics Open Water Swimming Junior World Championships in 2024, when more than 200 swimmers from 35 countries competed at the event.

Further details on the venue and competition schedule will be released by European Aquatics in due course.

Stephen Stanley for European Aquatics