A new freestyle spirit for St. Moritz and the Engadin
The 2025 Freestyle World Championships in St. Moritz Engadin have set new standards by putting the Engadin Valley on the world map of freestyle sport and lifestyle. The region has laid the foundations to become one of the leading freestyle hotspots in the Alps and to play a central role in the international freestyle sports scene. The World Championships have also generated a high level of added value in the tourist off-season. The strong media presence and social media engagement of the organisers and all partners involved achieved impressive coverage, once again demonstrating the region's expertise not only in the organisation but also in the staging and communication of major events.
The 2025 Freestyle World Championships in St. Moritz Engadin are the trigger for a future-oriented development of the region. They are aimed at a young, up-and-coming target group and thus contribute to the rejuvenation of the St. Moritz and Engadin tourism brands. With more than 1,800 athletes from 50 countries, 800 predominantly young volunteers and a dynamic organising committee, the Freestyle World Championships became an international event shaped by and for the next generation. The athletes were able to compete on outstanding sports infrastructures; their feedback was invariably positive and many of them will be training on the World Championship facilities in the future.
Johan Eliasch, FIS President, expressed his thanks to the organisers “for their incredible work in putting together such an amazing festival of snow sports. St. Moritz and the Engadin Valley are truly iconic resorts that I have had the pleasure of visiting for the past 50 years. I had no doubt that they would be the perfect hosts for these fantastic World Championships. The stunning scenery and world-class facilities provided the ideal setting for such an event and it's clear that every detail has been carefully considered. It's been an unforgettable experience, and I look forward to returning to this special place in the near future."
The first week: enthusiasm and strong spectator numbers
The first week of the Freestyle World Championships 2025 was a complete success. The sports programme was dominated by a number of program changes on the first weekend due to the challenging weather forecasts. In terms of sport, the ‘Super Friday’ should be highlighted, with eight decisions on the program. From a Swiss perspective, this was the most successful day with three Swiss world championship titles - and all within just 84 minutes. This was not only a sporting highlight, but also an impressive signal for the promotion of freestyle disciplines in Switzerland.
Successful second week: record numbers and media response
The second week continued the success, with more exciting competitions and an increasing number of international media reports. Over 300 accredited journalists, almost 200 of them from abroad, contributed to the extensive media presence.
The TV signals produced by SRG were picked up by over 30 TV stations, which underlines the good coverage and interest in the Freestyle World Championships. Despite the programme changes, the SRG host broadcasting went smoothly thanks to the professionalism and flexibility of everyone involved.
The media professionals present generated over 500 contributions (articles, radio and TV programmes) in Switzerland alone.
The social media team produced 3200 photos and videos and distributed them to all athletes, staff, national and international media and over 40 sponsors and partners.
The Instagram channel recorded 1.8 million views over the two weeks. The athletes, the international federation FIS and the partners made intensive use of the World Championships hashtags and the posts achieved several million impressions.
Milan Derouck, CEO of the Freestyle World Championships, expressed his satisfaction with the two-week event: “After three years of preparation, we were able to offer a predominantly young audience two weeks of sporting decisions and concerts at the highest level. We are convinced that the freestyle athletes will come back to the Engadin and share their passion for our region with their fans.”
Added value for the region
The 2025 Freestyle World Championships not only had a positive impact on the Engadin Valley in terms of sport and media, but also economically. A significant part of the added value remained in the region. The following factors should be emphasised in particular:
- Hotel industry: The region benefited from a high demand for overnight stays in the rather weak tourist period between the Engadin Ski Marathon and the Easter holidays. In addition to the 1,800 athletes and their staff, sponsors and their guests as well as service providers generated around 50,000 overnight stays. The direct and indirect added value in the Upper Engadine can be estimated at at least CHF 50 million. Once again, this shows that there is still great potential for snow sports after the marathon weekend.
- Catering: Both the local World Championships caterers and numerous restaurants and catering suppliers in the valley benefited from the World Championships.
- Ticketing and spectators: The festival programme was mainly focused on the second weekend with the combination of the Big Air finals and concerts. Over the two weeks, 15,000 sports and music fans visited the Festival Village. On Corviglia and Corvatsch, 100’000 people visited the competitions.
In order to analyse the added value and the factors influencing regional tourism in greater depth, the OC of the Freestyle World Championships will commission an added value and impact analysis in collaboration with St. Moritz Tourism and Engadin Tourism.
Discover all the impressionsof the FIS Freestyle World Championships 2025 here.