Russia entrusted with hosting World Championship for the first time since the start of the full-scale war in Ukraine
Moscow will host the World Weightlifting Championship in 2030. This is the first time since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022 that an international federation of an Olympic sport has decided to hold a world-class competition in Russia.
The International Weightlifting Federation (IWF) announced its decision on Sunday, October 25. It was made four months after the federation confirmed that Russian athletes would again be able to participate in competitions under its auspices.
The decision on the venues for the World Championships was made as part of the review of bids for the next four championships for youth, juniors, and adult athletes. IWF Secretary General, Peruvian José Quiñones, stated that all received bids were excellent and expressed confidence that the competitions in the countries that won the right to host them would be successful.
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, no World Championships in Olympic sports — neither summer nor winter — have been held in Russia. For example, the 2025 World Aquatics Championships, originally planned to be held in Kazan, were moved to Singapore.
The Kremlin welcomed the decision of the international federation. Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov called it an important step towards "separating sport from politics".
In July 2026, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) reversed its earlier decision to suspend the Russian Olympic Committee, taken after Russia's invasion of Ukraine. This potentially opened the way for Russian athletes to participate in the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Earlier, in September 2025, the International Paralympic Committee reinstated the full status of the Russian and Belarusian Paralympic Committees. This allowed Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete under their national flags at the Winter Paralympic Games in Milan and Cortina d'Ampezzo.
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