The World Skateboarding World Cup in Rome will start the race to the LA28 Olympics Games.

On Thursday, May 28, a press conference at the city’s majestic Piazza Del Campidoglio announcing the launch of the World Cup, which is taking place at two venues in the Eternal City next month.

Among those present were Sabatino Aracu, President of Skate Italia and World Skate; Diego Nepi Molineris, CEO of Sport and Health; Luciano Buonfiglio, President of CONI; Alessandro Onorato, Councillor for Major Events, Sport and Tourism of Rome; Mario Luciano Crea, President of the Lazio Regional Council for Sport, Culture and Tourism; and the Representative of the Metropolitan City of Rome.

Greeting assembled media against a backdrop of a skateboarding demonstration courtesy of Spot Skatepark, World Skate President Sabatino Aracu observed: “Skateboarding and all our roller disciplines stand out and manage to achieve success, consolidated worldwide, thanks to their urban, youthful, and sustainable character.

“Rome is proclaimed the capital of skateboarding thanks to two of its facilities that have become international benchmarks.

“Many athletes and champions come to the capital from all over the world throughout the year to train in the park in Ostia and at Colle Oppio.

“Rome is now an international hub for the Olympic discipline.”

The World Skateboarding Tour forms the road to the Olympic Games: the travelling Open contest series is organised and administered by World Skate as the official IOC recognised governing body of skateboarding.

With two state-of-the-art venues for both Olympic disciplines of Street and Park skateboarding, Rome has become a fixed star on the international skateboarding circuit since making its Olympic debut at Tokyo 2020.

Also attending the presentation was one of the leading athletes of the Italian National Park Team, Rome’s own Alessandro Mazzara, who last year, at his home event in Ostia, finished fourth in the medal final for the top eight, just a few points shy of the podium.

WST World Cup Rome 2026 is the first Olympic qualification event leading up to LA 2028 and is comprised of two separate contests, Park and Street, on successive weeks.

The event is a fortnight- long celebration of skateboarding running from Sunday, June 7, to Sunday, June 21, 2026.

The Spot Skatepark in Rome’s waterfront district of Ostia will greet hundreds of skateboarders from around the globe on June 7, for the WST Rome Park World Cup, before the action switches to the shadow of the Colosseum one week later for WST Rome Street in the Colle Oppio park overlooking the world-famous landmark.

Both Men’s and Women’s divisions are awarded equal status and prize money- $200,000 per discipline, split evenly between divisions as ever.

Olympic superstars like Chloe Covell, Tom Schaar, Jagger Eaton and Arisa Trew will be amongst those hoping to advance along the sole pathway to the Los Angeles Olympic Games in 2028.

More than 440 skateboarders from 66 nations of the globe will give it their all over the space of a June fortnight, and you can watch it all absolutely free.

Thanks to World Skate’s close cooperation with Italy’s state body Sport E Salute, both of these events are free admission to spectators and are also broadcast live around the world via online and terrestrial partners as well as World Skate’s own YouTube channel.