World Aquatics Championships live stream 2022: how to watch swimming, diving and water polo online for free

Katie Ledecky, Caeleb Dressel and Kaylee McKeown are just some of the Olympic gold medallists in action at the 2022 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest this month. Better known as the FINA World Championships to some, it's the biggest swimming, diving and water polo event in the world outside the Olympics, so read on as we explain how to watch a 2022 World Aquatics Championships live stream wherever you are right now – with free coverage available around the world.

Yet another slice of history beckons for Ledecky, one of the greatest swimmers of all time. If she takes gold in the 800m freestyle, she could go down as the first swimmer ever to win the same event at five consecutive World Championships. Home favorite Katinka Hosszú is chasing the same dream, having won the previous four 200m and 400m individual medleys at the World Aquatics Championships.

Dressel is another athlete commanding attention, having won five golds at Tokyo 2020, and 13 golds in his previous two World Championships. The American will be defending his crown in the 50m freestyle, 100m freestyle, 50m fly and 100m fly. Rising stars David Popovici and Hwang Sunwoo are both eyeing an upset in the 100m freestyle, and they're set to go head-to-head in the 200m freestyle too.

On top of all that is the water polo tournament, diving competition, open water swimming and the artistic swimming too. So much to see.

Follow our guide as we explain all the ways to get a 2022 World Aquatics Championships live stream wherever you are - starting with how to watch the World Aquatics Championships for FREE in Canada, Australia and the UK

How to watch a World Aquatics Championships: live stream FREE in Canada

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Swimming fans in Canada can live stream the 2022 FINA World Aquatics Championships on the CBC Sports website (opens in new tab) for free. It has by far the most comprehensive coverage worldwide.

Coverage starts as early as 3am ET / 12am PT on some days with live stream events all the way until the early evening. So, if you're after the fully bevy of swimming, diving and water polo, CBC should be your first port of call. Take a look at the CBC Sports schedule (opens in new tab) for full details of what's on and when. Away from home?

Use a VPN to watch the World Aquatics Championships from abroad. (opens in new tab)

Watch a World Aquatics Championships live stream from outside your country

The World Aquatics Championships is a global event, and there should be a way to watch the swimming no matter where you are. But if you're currently abroad and struggling to tune in - or if you just want the comfort and language of your home nation's coverage - then geo-restrictions may stand in your way of getting a World Aquatics Championships live stream.

That's where the broadcaster prevents you from watching your usual feed from abroad. It's a common problem for sports fans all over the world. By downloading and installing a VPN, you can effectively trick your computer into thinking that it's back at home.

Use a VPN to watch a World Aquatics Championships live stream from anywhere

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How to use a VPN for the World Aquatics Championships

Using a VPN to watch the World Aquatics Championships free on 9Now is as easy as one-two-three...

1. Download and install a VPN - as we say, our top choice is ExpressVPN

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app, hit 'choose location' and select the appropriate location

3. Go to the broadcaster's live stream - so if you're from Australia, just head to the 9Now streaming service (opens in new tab)

How to watch World Aquatics Championships: live stream for FREE in Australia

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Swimming fans in Australia are amongst the luckiest in the world, as they can watch the 2022 World Aquatics Championships for FREE on 9Gem (opens in new tab) and 9Go. 

Daily coverage typically begins at 5pm AEST, running for around three hours on most days and covering a selection of events.

That means viewers can also fire up a free World Aquatics Championships live stream on the 9Now streaming service (opens in new tab), which is compatible with most smart devices. Currently away from Australia?

Use a VPN to watch the World Aquatics Championships on 9Now from abroad (opens in new tab)

How to watch World Aquatics Championships: live stream swimming for FREE in the UK

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The World Aquatics Championships looks set to be shown absolutely FREE on BBC iPlayer (opens in new tab) and through the BBC Red Button in the UK.

At the time of publication though, the BBC hasn't yet revealed its broadcast schedule.

Away from the UK right now? No worries:

Use a VPN to watch a World Aquatics Championships free live stream from abroad (opens in new tab)

BBC iPlayer is free to watch with a valid TV licence, and works across a huge array of devices, including laptops, tablets, smartphones, media streaming devices like Apple TV, Amazon Fire, Chromecast and Roku, and PlayStation and Xbox consoles.

How to watch 2022 World Aquatics Championships: live stream swimming in the US without cable

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The 2022 World Aquatics Championships is being shown on both Peacock TV and the Olympic Channel in the US, with coverage starting at 12pm ET / 9am PT on each day of the event.

Peacock costs just $4.99 a month (opens in new tab) for an ad-supported version of the service that also offers live coverage of every big WWE event, the NFL, Premiership Rugby, plus plenty more live sports. You also have the option of paying $10 a month for commercial-free coverage.

The Olympic Channel is available via the cable-cutting streamer Sling TV, as part of an $11 per month add-on to its Sling Blue package, which includes 40+ other channels, including USA Network, NFL Network and National Geographic.

The usual cost of a Sling Blue subscription is $35 per month, but you can currently get your first month of Sling TV with a 50% discount (opens in new tab). And as there's no contract, you can cancel at any time. 

Another over-the-top streaming service that includes Olympic Channel is fuboTV. It's a much more comprehensive cable replacement, offering more than 100 other channels on plans starting from $69.99 a month. There's no long-term contract with fuboTV either.

Better still, there's a FREE 7-day FuboTV trial (opens in new tab) on offer so you can try before you buy - and cancel if you're not a fan.

If you subscribe to Peacock, Sling or any other US streaming service and find yourself unable to access coverage because you're out of the country, consider using a VPN as outlined below -we rate ExpressVPN as the best of the best (opens in new tab).

More ways to watch the 2022 World Aquatics Championships online

In some countries, select events are being live streamed on a PPV basis on the FINA Facebook page (opens in new tab). 

Unfortunately, FINA hasn't provided a full breakdown of the events that will be live streamed there, and where they'll be available.

Some of the scheduled events, for instance, expressly state that viewers won't be able to tune in from Brazil, Guam, Puerto Rico, United States, Virgin Islands.

Prices appear to vary from £2.99 for morning sessions, to £3.99 to watch evening sessions, which seems extremely expensive compared to mainstream broadcasters and streaming services.

As we say, there aren't many places around the world where the 2022 World Aquatics Championships isn't being covered by a big broadcaster.

World Aquatics Championships schedule and events

• Artistic Swimming - June 17-25
• Diving - June 26 - July 3
• Open Water - June 26-30
• Swimming - June 18-25
• Water Polo - June 20 - July 3