Seven breathtaking venues will feature in the 14th edition of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series – including three brand-new locations for 2023: Auckland in New Zealand, Takachiho in Japan, and Sweden’s capital city, Stockholm. The season finale in Auckland will be the 99th stop of the world series, which launched in 2009.
For the second season running, Boston will provide the opening launchpad. The Institute of Contemporary Art, set against the skyline of one of America’s oldest cities, bore witness to a very special first chapter in last year’s fight for the coveted King Kahekili trophies. A maiden victory for two of the sport’s young guns – Aidan Heslop of the UK and Canada’s Molly Carlson – set the tone for one of the most exciting seasons in cliff diving history.
Back in Europe, the iconic Eiffel Tower will provide a cliff diving déjà vu only two weeks later. While France had already played host to the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series on eight previous occasions, last year’s ninth edition provided a first-ever opportunity for the divers to show off their skills right in the heart of the nation’s capital city. In what is perhaps the sport’s most prominent setting yet, tourists and spectators will focus on the divers as they swoop acrobatically into the Seine River.
This year the world series will mark a special anniversary when it returns to the beautiful Puglia town of Polignano a Mare – the home of European cliff diving – for the tenth year since 2009.
August then takes the series to new waters. Japan will mark the season’s midway point, as the stunning Takachiho Gorge, deep into the mountains of Miyazaki prefecture in Kyushu will set a truly spectacular scene for the season’s fourth instalment; seven years since the cliff diving elite made their one and only visit to the Land of the Rising Sun.
The Swedish capital city Stockholm will debut as host for the daring 12 women and 12 men who will dive from up to 27m with the royal palace in the background. Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina has on three occasions played host to the season’s penultimate stop, a potentially pivotal point where one great dive or poor mistake can decide titles. This year, that interesting stat will be added to when the divers battle it out from the beautiful Stari Most at the sixth of seven stops.
The world’s 24 best high divers will then head to New Zealand for the final event of the season. Hosted in new territories in Auckland, the King Kahekili Trophy will be awarded to the best female and male high divers of the year in front of a large number of spectators.
2023 Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series calendar
- 3 June: Boston, USA
- 18 June: Paris, France
- 2 July: Polignano a Mare, Italy
- 3 August: Takachiho, Japan
- 19 August: Stockholm, Sweden
- 9 September: Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina
- 19 November: Auckland, New Zealand
Main image: Aidan Heslop dives from the platform on Stari Most (Old Bridge) in Mostar, Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2022. Images and video: Red Bull