World titles are being awarded across boulder, lead, speed and Paraclimbing disciplines.

Competition is due to take place at the PostFinance Arena, with men’s and women’s boulder qualifying scheduled to be held in the adjacent Curling Bern Arena.

In total ten Olympic qualification spots are available - with three each available for men and women in boulder and lead, and two each for men and women in the speed discipline.

A total of 428 athletes from 54 countries are set to feature, with Canadian Sean McColl set to become the first male athlete to participate at nine World Championships.

Slovenian Janja Garnbret, who claimed combined gold at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, is among the favourites for medals in Bern, following a year that has so far seen her claim a 40^th World Cup gold, including gold medals in both the boulder and lead disciplines.

Natalia Grossman of the United States, who claimed boulder gold and lead silver at the previous World Championships, and is the winner of this year’s Boulder World Cup series, is another athlete to watch.

In the men’s boulder and lead competitions French climbers will be hoping to make an impact in the run-up to Paris 2024, with Mejdi Schalck, who claimed Boulder World Cup golds in Hachioji and Seoul in April, among those to watch.

In the men’s and women’s speed events men’s world record holder Veddriq Leonardo of Indonesia is one to watch after breaking the five-second barrier three times at the World Cup in Seoul, with a gold medal accompanying his world record of 4.90 seconds.

In the women’s speed category Poland’s Aleksandra Miroslaw broke the world record four times at the same World Cup in South Korea, lowering the time to 6.25, making her the athlete to beat in this discipline.

The Paraclimbing World Championships are due to take place as part of the event, with qualifications on August 8 and finals scheduled for August 10.

Men’s and women’s boulder finals are due to be held on August 4 and 5, with lead finals scheduled for August 6, speed finals due to take place on August 10, and women’s and men’s boulder and lead finals set to take place on August 11 and 12 respectively.