Welcome to WRTC UK 2026!

The United Kingdom is delighted to have been awarded the hosting rights for the 10th WRTC taking place in July 2026.

Every 4 years, much like the Olympic Games, the World Radio Sport Team Championship, known as WRTC, relocates itself to a new host nation. WRTC is a radio contest event, designed to provide a platform for high-achieving ham radio contesters to compete on a level playing field in the same geographic region using identical antennas, output power and other operating conditions. Each team will have had to qualify over a significant period of time by participating and scoring extremely well in a collection of HF radio contests from October 2023 to March 2025. In July 2026, 50 qualifying teams, comprising of 100 operators will come to the UK from all over the world and will represent their home countries, much like the style seen in the Olympic Games. Each team of two will be assigned a Referee, for which there will be an application process. The team draw their operating site, their referee and callsign and then they all go off and operate the 24-hour IARU 2026 Contest. We will have live scoreboards available which will add to the excitement of this competition.

WRTC is a means to demonstrate international goodwill and friendship in the true ham spirit. It also allows youth operators to demonstrate their skills within this highly competitive event. WRTC UK 2026 will focus not only on providing a fair and enjoyable event for those who qualify either as a competitor or referee, but will also provide engagement to spectators all over the world. The Organising Committee for 2026 are focused on enabling those not involved with amateur radio to see the excitement and fascination around our hobby so that we can build foundations for individuals, schools and clubs to move forward with establishing training platforms and taking their license.

WRTC UK 2026 will take place in an area known as East Anglia. The 50 operating sites will be located in the counties of Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambridgeshire with the headquarters venue suitably positioned to serve these. More details on these locations will become clear as the project matures.

WRTC UK 2026 is a complex and challenging project to plan and execute. This is a fantastic opportunity for domestic and international hams to get involved with one of the most exciting projects that our hobby has to offer. We are so fortunate to be holding this event in the UK and this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. If you or your club can help as a volunteer, please get in touch. We will provide you with a role on the team, t-shirts and caps and other materials to welcome you to our project. We will need site managers to help with building the antennas, setting up the tents, generators, etc. We also need drivers, IT support, and ‘fix-it’ people – there’s plenty to do!

We welcome you to join us in this exciting project!