- Website: https://www.worldbowls.com
The World Bowls Championships is a prestigious international lawn bowls tournament that is held every four years on the Gold Coast, Australia. It is the largest bowls tournament in the world and features the top male and female players from bowls-playing nations competing for the title of world champion across singles, pairs and fours events. The picturesque surroundings of the Gold Coast provide an iconic setting for this showpiece event.
Event Background
The inaugural World Bowls Championships was held in Victoria, Australia in 1966. Since then, it has been held every four years in different locations across the bowls-playing world including New Zealand, Scotland, and South Africa.
The Gold Coast has hosted the championship on three occasions so far – in 2008, 2016, and 2023 with the 2020 event, unfortunately, cancelled due to the pandemic.
The 2008 event saw over 500 competitors from 30 countries descend on the region. It marked the first time the tournament was held outside of the traditional bowls strongholds of Australia, New Zealand and Britain. The championships were a major success which helped to raise the profile of the sport internationally and cement the Gold Coast’s reputation as a world-class destination for hosting international sporting events.
Emboldened by the success of 2008, the Gold Coast won the rights to host the championships again in 2016. Even larger in scale, it featured 40 participating nations and record crowds. Iconic Gold Coast venues such as Broadbeach Bowls Club and Victoria Park provided memorable backdrops.
The 2023 event hosted 700 athletes from 40 nations participating in events at the Broadbeach Bowls Club and Musgrave Hill Bowls Club.
The event continued to introduce lawn bowls to a new generation of fans from around the world and benefit the local Gold Coast economy through tourism.