The International Skating Union awarded the 2025 world figure skating championships to Boston on Wednesday, giving the U.S. the opportunity to host the last worlds before the Winter Olympics the following year in Milan.
It will be the second time Boston hosts worlds after welcoming sellout crowds to TD Garden in 2016.
“We are extremely happy with the decision of the ISU Council and very thankful that the ISU has entrusted us with this very important responsibility,” U.S. Figure Skating president Sam Auxier said. “We can’t wait to welcome the world back.”
The number of Olympic entries each nation receives in each discipline is determined by the preceding world championships, putting added importance on the event in Boston. Worlds also serves as an early test for Olympic hopefuls; Nathan Chen of the U.S. and Anna Shcherbakova of Russia won championships before triumphing at the Beijing Olympics in February.
“We had one of the most successful world championships back in 2016 in Boston, so we’re even more optimistic for the growth and success we can bring to the event,” said Doug Zeghibe, executive director of The Skating Club of Boston.
The Boston area has become a major hub for figure skating in the U.S., and the Tenley E. Albright Performance Center in nearby Norwood, Massachusetts, will host Skate America for the first time when the Grand Prix season begins next week.
Among those set to compete are American phenom Ilia Malinin, who recently became the first skater to land the quad axel in competition; Olympic silver medalist Yuma Kagiyama, and bronze medalist Kaori Sakamoto of Japan; and the pairs team of Alex Knierim and Brandon Frazier and ice dancers Madison Chock and Evan Bates, who together helped the U.S. win a team bronze medal that could still be elevated to silver pending an investigation into Russian doping.
Skate America is the first of six Grand Prix events before the Grand Prix Final in Italy in December.
“Boston is a figure skating town with sophisticated and passionate fans who not only love to follow the sport but truly appreciate the work these skaters put in year after year,” Zeghibe said “We are thrilled to support U.S. Figure Skating as the local host for the event, and to help welcome the world back to Boston.”
The ISU also provisionally sent the 2026 worlds to the Czech capital Prague in a late-March slot.