Olympic Climbing will feature for the first time ever in Tokyo 2021. As Japan is ahead of the US and Europe in timezones, things can get a little confusing. Find out when to watch Olympic Climbing in the US and UK timezones with our guide.
When To Watch Olympic Climbing Live?
See our full Olympic Climbing schedule below for all US and UK time zones. Scroll down for the individual Bouldering/Speed/Lead timing breakdown if you just want to watch single events. Lead is last event and will decide the winners, followed by the awards ceremony at the Finals.
| Japan | US Pacific | US Mountain | US Central | US Eastern | UK BST | |
| Men’s Combined Qualification Tues 3rd August | 5pm | 1am | 2am | 3am | 4am | 9am |
| Women’s Combined Qualification Weds 4th August | 5pm | 1am | 2am | 3am | 4am | 9am |
| Men’s Combined Final Thurs 5th August | 5:30pm | 1:30am | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 9:30am |
| Women’s Combined Final Fri 6th August | 5:30pm | 1:30am | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 9:30am |
In the qualifications there will be twenty climbers competing in all three events. The top eight will then go on to the finals. The events themselves will each last about five to six hours. Depending on how hard the setting is the Bouldering and Lead events could be over fairly quickly.
The medal ceremonies will be immediately after the finals finish. Save the below image to your phone for ease.
Read our full guide to Olympic Climbing for rules, top picks per event, and more
Olympic Climbing – Men’s Combined Qualification Schedule
| Tuesday 3rd August | Japan | US Pacific | US Mountain | US Central | US Eastern | UK |
| Speed | 5pm | 1am | 2am | 3am | 4am | 9am |
| Bouldering | 6pm | 2am | 3am | 4am | 5am | 10am |
| Lead | 9:10pm | 5:10am | 6:10am | 7:10am | 8:10am | 1:10pm |
Olympic Climbing – Women’s Combined Qualification Schedule
| Wednesday 4th August | Japan | US Pacific | US Mountain | US Central | US Eastern | UK |
| Speed | 5:30pm | 1:30am | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 9:30am |
| Bouldering | 6:30pm | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 5:30am | 10am |
| Lead | 9:10pm | 5:10am | 6:10am | 7:10am | 8:10am | 1:10pm |
Olympic Climbing – Men’s Combined Final Schedule
| Thursday 5th August | Japan | US Pacific | US Mountain | US Central | US Eastern | UK |
| Speed | 5:30pm | 1:30am | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 9:30am |
| Bouldering | 6:30pm | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 5:30am | 10:30am |
| Lead | 9:10pm | 5:10am | 6:10am | 7:10am | 8:10am | 1:10pm |
Olympic Climbing – Women’s Combined Final Schedule
| Friday 6th August | Japan | US Pacific | US Mountain | US Central | US Eastern | UK |
| Speed | 5:30pm | 1:30am | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 9:30am |
| Bouldering | 6:30pm | 2:30am | 3:30am | 4:30am | 5:30am | 10:30am |
| Lead | 9:10pm | 5:10am | 6:10am | 7:10am | 8:10am | 1:10pm |
How To Watch Olympic Climbing?
We’ve listed the best way to watch Olympic Climbing live and streaming below per country. Most smaller countries will actually have better broadcast rights and it’ll just be on TV. None of the following links for free trials e.t.c are affiliate/commission links, these are just the best ways we’ve found.
USA
In the USA you can watch Olympic Climbing if you have access to NBC through your cable provider or though an online service.
- Cable – If you have cable that includes NBC you can watch Sport Climbing live on the NBC Olympics or NBC Sports channels.
- Local Cable – If you get NBC local you can watch some of the Olympics – but Sport Climbing may not be guaranteed and will likely be highlights or back and forth with other sports.
- Streaming On NBC – If you have a cable provider with NBC you can log in using your cable providers details and watch live streaming online here. You can also watch the streams and highlights later on. This is the best option to guarantee you can watch just the Sports Climbing stream. With the options below you should also watch the stream by logging into NBC to watch the Climbing stream.
- Free Trials With NBC Access – Both YouTube TV and the Hulu + Live TV bundle include access to log in to NBC live streaming. Both have free trials you can use now. With those you can watch individual Olympic sport streams live too.
- Streaming On Sling – You can get Sling for $10 for the first month. Sign up for the Blue which includes the NBC Sports channels and NBC live streams. If you don’t cancel it’s $25 a month after.
- Streaming On fuboTV – You can get a free seven day trial of fubo which includes the NBC Sports channels and NBC live streams. You’ll need to cancel before the trial ends or you’ll get charged monthly.
- Streaming On Peacock – Peacock is a streaming service offshoot of NBC/Comcast that offers a free service or a couple of paid plans. The free one will be streaming some Olympic events but not Sport Climbing according to their own website. It’s mainly the big classics like Track and Field, Gymnastics, plus the opening and closing ceremonies. The paid version is $4.99 with ads or $9.99 without – though it’s not clear if Sport Climbing is included as live or as part of the highlights.
Canada
In Canada you can watch all of the Olympics streaming for free online through CBC’s website here. If you’re a resident temporarily outside of Canada you can use a VPN. You can download ProtonVPN with a free account and they’ll give you a free trial of the top plan for 7 days so you can pretend that you are in Canada.
United Kingdom
The BBC are only allowed to broadcast two sports at the same time due to getting a worse/cheaper license for the Olympics this year. You used to have many channels and red button services to view every event. You will probably be able to see most of the Sport Climbing events live on the BBC but with a back and forth between other sports.
The best way to watch Olympic Sport Climbing in the UK without interruption or through highlights is with Eurosport. You can buy a £6.99 month pass that covers all of the Olympic events or get a 3 day free trial for an annual pass (you must cancel before it renews). The full schedule with links to each event is here.
Europe
Eurosport covers most countries in Europe for live streaming of Olympic Sport Climbing. In France live coverage will be on France TV, In Germany it’s on ARD and ZDF.
Australia
You can watch most Olympic events live in Australia on Channel 7 or 7+. Online you can stream Olympics Sports Climbing through the 7+ website. Again, if you are a resident temporarily outside of Australia you can use a VPN. You can download ProtonVPN with a free account and they’ll give you a free trial of the top plan for 7 days so you can pretend that you are in Canada.
How To Watch Olympic Climbing Streaming?
The best way to watch Olympic Climbing streaming in the USA is to log in to NBC’s website using your cable provider’s credentials. NBC’s website have full streams set up per sport so you can watch just Sport Climbing without hopping between sports.
NBC’s full schedule with links to watch the streams can be found here.
If you’re in Canada you can stream on CBC’s website. In the UK you can watch live on BBC iPlayer.
Who Is Commentating Sport Climbing For The NBC?
Alex Honnold and Meagan Martin will be doing some commentary of the NBC Sport Climbing coverage, likely on highlights an backgrounds of the climbers.
Is Olympic Climbing On The BBC?
Yes, but Olympic coverage is scaled back this year. It used to be that most BBC Channels had live coverage and the Red Button service covered every individual sport. This year the license is greatly reduced and only two sports can be live at the same time.
You’ll probably find that Sport Climbing will be covered back and forth between Football, Horse Jumping, Diving, Gymnastics, and others. Your best bet in the UK is to try Eurosport using a £6.99 pass for the month. Qualifications start at 9am on the 3rd and 4th, then 9:30am on the 5th and 6th for the finals.
Who Is Commentating Sport Climbing For The BBC?
The UK commentators will be Ed Leigh who commentates winter sports and snowboarding in particular, as well as newer sports like Beach Volleyball and BMX. Mike Langley is also commentating and he’s an experienced IFSC commentator as well as competition route setter and center designer
Molly Thompson-Smith of team GB will also be a studio guest and giving her insight into what the qualification rounds have been like.
