OKLAHOMA CITY (June 26, 2026) – The 2026 ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships are coming to RIVERSPORT OKC on July 18-25. As a qualifier for the 2028 Olympic Games, this is the biggest event in the sport, attracting 350 athletes from more than 60 countries across the globe. RIVERSPORT OKC has hired several local bands, musicians, dancers, and celebrities to ensure that this event is as exciting as it is massive.
The ICF World Championships will kick-off with an Opening Ceremony on Saturday, July 18, followed by six days of competition July 20-25, generally running 9:00am to 5:00pm. Food trucks, live music, community art, and a Route 66 Car Show will accompany the competition all week. The closing day on July 25 will include the medal ceremony and a Closing Night Ceremony.
The Opening Ceremony at 7:00pm on July 18, which is free and open to the public, will feature a fabulous range of bands and dance companies from across Oklahoma City, highlighting the diversity and quality of local entertainment. RACE Dance Company and DJ Tony Tee will lead the athletes from all 60 countries in the Parade of Nations. OCU Opera star J. Warren Mitchell will offer the National Anthem. And select athletes from each country will kayak into the venue while others carry their national flag.
The stage show will open with Native American fancy dancers and drummers led by Boye Ladd and the Oklahoma Native Dance Troupe and a Native rock band LABRYS featuring Penny Pitchlynn. Local R&B group Original Flow featuring Christopher Acoff will follow alongside local hip hop dancers. Latino rock band La Real Sonora will partner with Clips n’ Hips Dance Company + Motion Lab Dance Company, followed by the all-girl rock band Stepmom. And the band You in Me featuring Al Novey and Steven Drozd will close out the show along with a massive fireworks show.
From July 20-25, RIVERSPORT will host live music on two stages throughout the competition, plus ongoing music from DJ Spencer Powers. The Rotary Stage inside RIVERSPORT will feature live performances by Coat, Boye Ladd Fancy Dancers, Wet Muscles, Nia Mone, Bella Burns, Mingo Dance, and Beau Jennings. The Route 66 Stage will feature the Jeremy Rowe Band, Mallory Eagle, Vintage Vibe, AJ Harvey Trio, Claire Piersol Duo, and Noah Engh & The Neptunes.
The Closing Ceremony on July 25 will start immediately after the medal ceremony at 5:00pm. That show will last an hour and will include music from Husbands, DJ Tony Tee, rapper Jabee, the cast of Sweeney Todd, a celebration of the 50th anniversary of Nadia Comaneci’s Perfect 10 at the Olympics featuring Nadia Comaneci and Bart Conner, and a Red Bull parachuter dropping out of a plane and landing in the water.
The ICF World Championships provide the first major opportunity to show the world, and the athletes that will be coming back for the Olympics, that Oklahoma City belongs in the pantheon of great Olympic host cities like Rome, Paris, London, and Barcelona. Come be a part of the action. More information and tickets available at okc2026.com.