How to watch Synchronised Swimming at Olympics 2020: key dates, live stream and more

Synchronised swimming, aka artistic swimming, aka spectacular water artistry galore! This is one of the two women-only events at the 2020 Olympic Games and you’ll see swimmers performing brilliantly coordinated routines at the Tokyo Aquatics Centre all week, thanks to this guide on how to watch a synchronised swimming live stream.

For the last 20 years, Russia has bagged all the gold medals for synchronised swimming at the Olympics. Talk about consistently overpowering your competition!

The team is led by Svetlana Romashina, who’s regarded as the greatest artistic swimmer in history. Not to mention, she’s a five-time Olympic and 18-time world champion.

You’ll also want to look out for Japan and China. With 14 medals, Japan has the highest medal count in the sport, and China’s performance has steadily improved since the 2008 Olympics. 

We’ve covered some of the key dates of the event below and if you’d like to learn about the other games, read our comprehensive article getting an Olympics live stream. Otherwise, keep reading to discover how you can watch synchronised swimming at Olympics 2020.

Olympics 2020 artistic swimming: key dates and times

- Duet Free Routine Preliminary: Monday, August 2 from 7:30pm JST / 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET

- Duet Technical Routine: Tuesday, August 3 from 7:30pm JST / 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET

- Duet Free Routine Final: Wednesday, August 4 from 7:30pm JST / 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET

- Team Technical Routine: Friday, August 6 from 7:30pm JST / 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET

- Team Free Routine: Saturday, August 7 from 7:30pm JST / 11:30am BST / 6:30am ET 

Free Olympics synchronised swimming live stream

The Olympics only come around once every 4 years (or 5 in this case) so when it does lots of broadcasters are hot on the coverage. Therefore, you should be able to watch the synchronised swimming fairly easily.

In the UK, the BBC and its iPlayer streaming site/app is live-streaming the Olympics for free, and so are the likes of Kenya’s KTN, Ireland’s RTE, and Australia’s Channel 7. Keep reading to find out what options you have available to watch synchronised swimming at Olympics 2020.

How to watch your Olympics live stream when abroad

You should be able to find an Olympic Games stream (whether paid or free) in whatever country you happen to be in. But you may find that: a) your usual domestic coverage is geo-blocked when overseas; or b) that your place of work or college has blocked the ability to watch online where you are.

There's a really easy way to solve those issues, thankfully. By downloading and installing the best VPN service, you can effectively trick your computer, phone or tablet into thinking that it's somewhere completely different. That way you can enjoy your usual coverage without having to find an illegal stream.

Use a VPN to watch Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games from anywhere

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Using a VPN 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 the UK, just head to BBC iPlayer

FREE Olympics synchronised swimming live stream in the UK

UK residents can turn to the BBC channels for free live broadcasting, since BBC One and Two will telecast over 350 hours of live footage from the Tokyo Olympics. The live stream will also be accessible through the online BBC iPlayer.

However, streaming platforms Discovery+ and Eurosport have the rights to the majority of the coverage from Tokyo this year. So for more extensive coverage take a look at their subscriptions, which will cost you £4.99/month and £6.99/month respectively. Other than Android and iOS, these services can be used through LG TV, Xbox, Chromecast, and more devices. 

Not in the UK during the 2020 Olympic games? Use a VPN to connect to servers in the UK and catch all the games live. 

How to watch Olympics synchronised swimming in the US with and without cable

On cable TV in the US, NBC has the broadcasting rights for the Tokyo Olympics. If you have the network on your cable, then you can watch it online via the NBC streaming platform, too.

For those who don’t use cable, there are other streaming services available that have the NBC channel, like Peacock TV, Sling TV, YouTube TV, and others. 

Peacock TV is available for a meagre price of $4.99 a month (or $49.99 for an annual plan) and comes with a FREE 7-day trial - though note this coverage is limited and only likely to show the highlights of the synchronised swimming, if anything at all.

Alternatively, Sling TV costs $35/month for the package you need for more comprehensive NBC access, with synchronised swimming coverage. Right now, it’s available for just $10 for the first month as part of a limited time deal.

Both these streaming services are available on the Google Chrome Browser, Amazon Fire TV, gaming consoles like PS4 and Xbox One, and on Android and iOS.  

How to watch Olympics synchronised swimming in Canada

Canada has several broadcasters airing the Tokyo Olympics—Sportsnet, TSN, CBC, and TLN. Cable subscribers can watch all the games through these channels. 

Cord-cutters will have to subscribe to Sportsnet, TSN, or CBC’s OTT services to stream the events. Sportsnet and TSN’s streaming services start at CAD 19.99/month, but CBC offers free streaming. TLN doesn’t offer a streaming service as of writing. 

Want to watch your coverage from abroad? Then don't forget that using a VPN is a great way to watch coverage overseas.

How to live stream synchronised swimming at the Olympics for FREE in Australia

Channel 7 and its online 7Plus streaming service is the place to be for free Olympics coverage Down Under. That means you can watch via laptop, iOS, Android, Fetch TV, Apple TV, PS4, Chromecast and more.

Channel 7 in Australia is telecasting the 2020 Olympics for free.

Channel 7 has exclusive broadcasting rights and you’ll find the games airing on 7Mate and 7Two. For those wanting to watch online or on mobile, you can use 7plus, Channel 7’s streaming service, which can run on iOS, Android, Fetch TV, Apple TV, PS4, Chromecast and more.

Not in Australia? Use a VPN if you're away from home, in order to tap into your local Olympics coverage.

Other 2020 Olympics broadcasters around the world

It won't come as a surprise that the Olympics is being shown in most corners of the globe - although with varying levels of coverage and without free broadcasters in some countries.

If you're not in any of the countries mentioned above, then we'd suggest taking a look at the dedicated Wikipedia page of all of the world's Olympic Games channels.