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

Canoeing is an Olympic sport that has been consistently dominated by European countries for quite some time. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Germany won three out of the six men’s races in canoe sprint, and Hungary won three out of the four women’s events. Plenty of other events were won by contestants from the likes of Spain, Ukraine, and England, so if you’re interested in how it'll pan out this year, check out our guide on getting an Olympics canoeing live stream anywhere.

Canoe slalom is no different— European athletes have been dominating the competitions for the last 30 years. Non-European athletes won only in the 2008 and 2016 Olympics (and they were bronze medals – disparity much?).

Europe has numerous artificial whitewater courses, and this gives their athletes ample opportunity to hone their skills. However, as more artificial courses are set up around the globe, this colossal gap in proficiency is closing, albeit a little slowly.

Eager to watch canoeing at Olympics 2020? Great, because we’ve covered all the crucial dates and streaming options in this article. And if you’d like to know more about watching the other games, you can check out this detailed article about all the Olympics live stream opportunities.

Olympics 2020 canoeing: key dates and times

Men's Kayak Single 1000m & Women's Kayak Single 500m Finals: Tuesday, August 3 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET 

Men's Kayak Single 200m Finals: Thursday, August 5 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET 

Women's Canoe Single 200m Finals: Thursday, August 5 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Women's Kayak Single 500m Finals: Thursday, August 5 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Men's Kayak Double 1000m Finals: Thursday, August 5 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Women's Canoe Double 500m Finals: Saturday, August 7 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Men's Canoe Single 1000m Finals: Saturday, August 7 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Women's Kayak Four 500m Final: Saturday, August 7 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Men's Kayak Four 500m Final: Saturday, August 7 from 9:30am JST / 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET

Free Olympics canoeing live stream

Many broadcasters globally are covering the Tokyo Olympics and, fortunately, some of them are free-to-air. The official Olympics Channel is offering limited coverage and some catch-up of many of the sporting events, especially the major ones. However, if you’re looking for comprehensive live action, you’ll need to go for domestic broadcasters.

In the UK, the BBC is broadcasting A-list sports and matches on free-to-air TV and on the BBC iPlayer website, while ARD and ZDF are doing the same in Germany, Channel 7 in Australia is offering quite possibly the most comprehensive coverage we've encountered, with live streams of most sports as it happens, and TVNZ has access in New Zealand. Continue reading to learn how you can live stream canoeing at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.

How to watch your Olympics live stream when abroad

While most countries will have decent free coverage, there are a couple of instances in which you'll want to access something different. The most likely scenarios for this are if you're out of your home country and can't access your regular streaming sites, or if watching online has been blocked on your work or college Internet.

The simplest way to remedy this is by using a VPN. A VPN is software that can virtually change your location, avoid network restrictions and keep you more private online as well. All you need to do is install it, select a server in your country of choice, and catch all the Olympic goodness without resorting to an illegal stream.

Use a VPN to watch Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games from anywhere

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Getting started with your VPN is super simple:

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

2. Connect to the appropriate server location - open the VPN app and select the appropriate location, and connect

3. Go to the broadcaster's live stream - so if you're after a UK stream, just head to BBC iPlayer

FREE Olympics canoeing live stream in the UK

The BBC is offering great coverage of the Olympics, and residents get to view it absolutely free. BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer will broadcast more than 350 hours of live footage from the event, mostly focusing on the biggest events and those featuring Team GB stars.

For more in-depth coverage of every event, you can check out Discovery+ from £6.99 a month, while Eurosport is £6.99 a month, or £29.99 for a year plus a three-day free trial. Both services run on Apple and Windows computers, Android TV, Samsung TV, Chromecast, and more devices.

In case you’re not in the UK during the Tokyo Olympic games, you can use a download and install a VPN to connect to servers in the UK and watch all the games.

How to watch Olympics canoeing in the US with and without cable

In the US, NBC has the broadcasting rights for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. If you have NBC on your cable, then you have the option to stream it online too. For full coverage information, check out the NBC schedule.

Live stream Olympics canoeing without cable

For cord-cutters, other streaming services have the NBC channel, like Peacock TV, Sling TV, and fuboTV.

Sling TV will set you back $35/ month and is currently available for just $10 for the first month. Peacock TV is available at just $4.99 a month and comes with a one-week free trial. fuboTV is more expensive at $64.99/month, but it comes with a one-week free trial.

These streaming services are available on the Google Chrome Browser, Android TV, Fire TV, gaming consoles like Xbox and PS5, and on Android and iOS.

How to watch Olympics canoeing in Canada

Canada has multiple broadcasters covering the 2020 Olympics. Cable users can catch all the events on CBC, Sportsnet, TSN, and TLN. If you don’t use cable, you can subscribe to CBC, TSN, or Sportsnet’s online streaming services. 

Of the four, only CBC’s online streaming service is free of cost, so it will probably be the best option for most users who don't already have a subscription. TSN and Sportsnet cost CAD 19.99/month, while TLN doesn’t offer a standalone streaming service.

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 canoeing at the Olympics for FREE in Australia

For Australian viewers, Channel 7 and the streaming service 7Plus has exclusive broadcasting rights for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics. Fans can rejoice because the broadcast is absolutely free for viewing – and from what we've seen, it offers the best selection of free-to-watch events of any global broadcaster.

Live coverage will also be broadcast on 7Two and 7Mate. To view the games online, you can use Channel 7’s online streaming service, 7plus. 7plus is available on Android, iOS, web browsers, Fetch TV, Samsung TV, PS4, and more devices.

Gone abroad? Use a VPN if you're not in Aus to catch all the free action from wherever you are.

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.