The Wife Carrying World Championships is gaining a new official qualifier, as the official UK Wife Carrying Championship will be held for the first time in Kirkcudbright, Scotland, on Sunday 19 July 2026.
The new event is an official qualifier for the Wife Carrying World Championships. The winning team will earn a place at the 2027 Wife Carrying World Championships in Finland.
The competition will be held as part of the Kirkcudbright Country Fair, which attracts thousands of visitors to Kirkcudbright every year. Kirkcudbright is a charming harbour town of around 3,300 residents in Dumfries & Galloway, south-west Scotland. According to locals, the town’s name is pronounced “Kir-coo-bree”.
The event is organised by Kirkcudbright Summer Festivities, a charitable organisation run primarily by volunteers. The organisation’s aim is to create events for local residents and attract visitors to the area.
“When we saw videos of the Wife Carrying World Championships on YouTube, we immediately noticed how much joy and fun the sport brings to both participants and spectators. The idea quickly came to us: an event like this would be a perfect fit for Kirkcudbright,” says event organiser Rob Linden.
According to Linden, wife carrying will bring new energy and an international atmosphere to the Kirkcudbright Country Fair.
“We hope that the official qualifier will attract even more visitors to the area and also appeal to a younger audience. We are really looking forward to the event – it will certainly be an exciting and unique addition to this year’s programme,” Linden says.
Registration for the competition is now open:
https://www.kirkcudbright.town/ukwifecarrying/
