With its high level of expertise, excellent infrastructure for (almost) all sports and its inhabitants’ enthusiasm for sport, Bern has long established itself as a city for sports. From soccer and ice hockey to track and field – many of the regional teams and athletes are the best at what they do and are regularly rewarded for it, as was the case in the year 2019, when the title “Swiss Champion” went to not one, but two Bernese teams: the soccer team BSC Young Boys and the ice hockey team SCB.  

But the federal city is not only a popular host for major sporting events such as the 2008 European soccer championships or the 2009 ice hockey world championships – competitions for juniors and niche sports are also actively supported by the authorities and the locals. So if you are planning a world championship for junior floor hockey or a fencing world cup, keep Bern in mind as a possible host.

A candidacy, and with it the awarding of a large-scale sporting event, is preceded by years of work, evaluations, and discussions with associations. Thanks to our comprehensive experience and extensive know-how and our networking role, we bring together the different stakeholders and players and host countless attractive sporting events in Bern. Here are some of the highlights we are looking forward to:

Our services

We are happy to help you with your bid for a sporting event!

The Bernese arenas are suited for nearly everything:

• Stadion Wankdorf
  Thanks to the artificial turf, the soccer stadium can be used for all kinds of sporting and business events, concerts and more.
  
  
• PostFinance Arena
  The ice hockey stadium has room for 17,000 spectators.
  
  
• CBA Curling Rink
  The large arena has eight rinks and can be used as a multi-purpose hall in the summer.
  
  
• Sporthalle Wankdorf Bern
  A multi-purpose hall suited for all indoor sports such as floor hockey, handball, basketball or fencing. Seating for up to 2,500 spectators.
  
  
• Mobiliar Arena
  A multi-purpose hall mainly for handball, with room for 1,450 seated and 900 standing.
  
  
• Allmend Sports Ground
  The facility consists of four fields with natural grass, two fields with artificial turf, a baseball, rugby and frisbee field, a hammer throw field and the open meadow (“Allmend”).
  
  
• Wankdorf Track and Field Arena
  With a grandstand that seat 700 spectators, a timekeeping office and training and meeting rooms, this facility is perfectly equipped for track and field events.
  
  
• Swiss Bike Park Oberried
  Unique training and testing track for bike riders in a rural setting.

Further sports facilities can be found on Sportamt-Bern.ch.

In addition to its versatile infrastructure, Bern also offers broad expertise in the matter. There are numerous different organizations that examine the scientific, political or economic aspects of sport. The Federal Office of Sport (FOSPO), for example. Its headquarters are located about an hour outside of Bern, in Magglingen, along with the National Sports Centre and the Swiss Federal Institute of Sport (SFISM), amongst others. All of the main Swiss sporting associations – including Swiss Olympic, Swiss Curling, Swiss Ice Skating, the Swiss Football Association and Antidoping Switzerland – are also based in the federal city.

The Institute of Sport Science (ISPW) at the University of Bern completes the circle of sporting experts and is predestined to provide scientific monitoring at sporting events. The institute also organizes the interdisciplinary colloquium “Berner Gespräche zur Sportwissenschaft” (“Bernese Conversations about Sports Science”) to promote the exchange between different players in the field. And it cooperated with the Institute of Sports Science at the University of Tübingen to conceptualize the doctoral programme "Interdisciplinary Sports Science", one of the few internationally oriented doctoral programmes in sports science.

The broad sporting expertise in the federal city is ideal for providing scientific monitoring at sporting events, developing exciting and innovative research projects or completing events with interesting presentations and talks.

Interested associations should contact the Bern Convention Office as soon as possible to receive the best possible support during the entire process, from evaluation and candidature all the way to the completion of their sporting event in the federal city.