How to watch the 2024 Olympic sailing online or on TV
Olympians take to water from Sunday, July 28
We've seen some early races of the Olympic sailing already, but medals haven't been given out yet for this sea-based part of the 2024 Summer Olympics.
US: Peacock | NBC
UK: iPlayer | BBC (free with license fee) | Discovery Plus
AU: Stan Sports | 9Now (free)
Watch abroad with a VPN
If you want to watch the 2024 Olympics in the UK or Australia, you'll be glad to know that you can do so for FREE on iPlayer and 9Now respectively. If you're abroad when the games are going on, you can watch the 2024 Olympics from anywhere by using a VPN.
Olympic sailing takes athletes to Marseille on France's south coast, as sailors from around the world compete to win gold in the ten different events that'll make up the competition.
Ranging from single-athlete windsurfing to involved multi-hull vessel races, the Olympic sailing will test the mettle of 330 competitors from 65 Olympic organizations from around the world.
So here's how to watch the Olympic sailing races, with information on when races take place and what else you need to know.
How to watch the Olympic sailing in the US
In order to watch the Olympic sailing races in the US, you'll need to use the NBCUniversal streaming service Peacock to catch it all. This costs $5.99 per month or $59.99 per year for its ad-supported Premium tier and $11.99 / $119.99 for its ad-free Premium Plus one.
Peacock is set to host live streams of every single Olympic sport, including of course the various sailing races, that you'll be able to stream as they happen.
You'll even be able to use Peacock to watch multiple live streams at once, keep tabs on events you're not watching, and set reminders to tune into certain events when they begin.
How to watch the Olympic sailing in the UK
In the UK, the BBC has rights to broadcast the Olympic events including sailing, and it'll be doing so in two ways.
First is via the BBC One and BBC Two TV channels, with the BBC alternating between the two to show coverage of various live sports. Second is using iPlayer's Olympics Extra live stream which will show alternative sports to the main channel.
Using these options will be free to those who pay their license fee but you won't be able to choose which sport you're watching, and you'll be at the mercy of whatever the BBC decides to show. So you might not be able to watch sailing at all if the BBC isn't showing it.
Thankfully, there is another option that'll let you see the sports. Discovery Plus is set to show a lot more of the Olympic games, and while it usually costs £6.99 per month for its Standard plan, a temporary deal lets you sign up for £3.99 monthly until the end of the year.
How to watch the Olympic sailing in Australia
To watch the Olympic sailing events in Australia, your best bet will be to boot up the streaming service 9Now, because this is set to host over 40 channels worth of Olympic coverage over the fortnight.
9Now is free to use and works on a variety of smart devices, with a web browser option available too.
Some Channel Nine channels could also show Olympic coverage but to watch as much sailing as possible, 9Now will be the way to go.
How to watch the Olympic sailing everywhere else
If you're going to be away from your normal TV setup but still want to watch the Olympic sailing, you might run into some problems. Thankfully, you can solve this exact issue with a Virtual Private Network (VPN).
A VPN lets you change your IP address to that of the area of what you want to watch, meaning you can tune in to your favorite sports, show or other content even if you're not there. Our favorite is NordVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.
How to use a VPN to watch any stream
- Download the app at NordVPN
- Choose the location of the streaming service you want to watch (UK, US, etc)
- Navigate to the streaming service and start watching!
NordVPN is one of the simplest and most affordable ways to watch what you want, from wherever you want to watch it.
It's straightforward and easy to use, has great security, is available on loads of streaming devices and, best of all, it comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it out 100% risk-free. Give it a go.
Olympic sailing schedule
Here's when each segment of the Olympic sailing events will take place.
Times are in CEST, Paris' local time. It's 9 hours ahead of PT, 6 ahead of ET, 1 ahead of the UK and 8 behind AEST.
Sunday, July 28
- 11:13 am: women's windsurfing races 1 & 2
- 12:43: men's windsurfing races 1 & 2
- 2:33 pm: women's windsurfing races 3 & 4
- 2:35 pm: women's skiff races 1, 2 & 3
- 2:45 pm: men's skiff races 1, 2 & 3
- 4:03 pm: men's windsurfing races 3 & 4
Monday, July 29
- 11:15 am: women's skiff races 4, 5 & 6
- 1:05 pm: wmen's skiff races 4, 5 & 6
- 2:43 pm: women's windsurfing races 5, 6, 7 & 8
- 3:01 pm: men's windsurfing races 5, 6, 7 & 8
Tuesday, July 30
- 11:13 am: women's windsurfing races 9, 10, 11 & 12
- 1:17 pm: men's windsurfing races 9, 10, 11 & 12
- 2:45 pm: women's skiff races 7, 8 & 9
- 3:35 pm: men's skiff races 7, 8 & 9
Wednesday, July 31
- 11:15 am: women's skiff races 10, 11 & 12
- 1:03 pm: men's windsurfing races 13, 14, 15 & 16
- 1:50 pm: men's skiff races 10, 11 & 12
- 3:48 pm: women's windsurfing races 13, 14, 15 & 16
Thursday, August 1
- 11:15 am: men's dinghy race 1 & 2
- 1:43 pm: men's skiff medal race
- 2:03 pm: women's windsurfing races 17, 18, 19 and 20
- 2:35 pm: women's dinghy races 1 & 2
- 2:43 pm: women's skiff medal race
- 2:54 pm: men's windsurfing races 17, 18, 19 & 20
Friday, August 2
- 11:05 am: mixed dinghy race 1 & 2
- 11:15 am: women's dinghy race 3 & 4
- 1:03 pm: women's windsurfing quarter-final, semi-final and final
- 1:23 pm: men's windsurfing quarter-final, semi-final and final
- 2:35 pm: men's dinghy race 3 & 4
Saturday, August 3
- 11:15 am: men's dinghy race 5 & 6
- 1:25 pm: women's dinghy race 5 & 6
- 2:45 pm: mixed multi-hull race 1, 2 & 3
- 4:05 pm: mixed dinghy race 3 & 4
Sunday, August 4
- 11:05 am: men's dinghy race 7 & 8
- 11:05 am: mixed multi-hull race 4, 5 & 6
- 11:13 am: men's kite race 1, 2, 3 & 4
- 11:13 am: women's kite race 1, 2, 3 & 4
- 1:35 pm: women's dinghy race 7 & 8
- 4:05 pm: mixed dinghy race 5 & 6
Monday, August 5
- 11:03 am: women's kite race 5, 6, 7 & 8
- 11:05 am: mixed multi-hull race 7, 8 & 9
- 11:13 am: men's kite race 5, 6, 7 & 8
- 11:15 am: women's dinghy race 9 & 10
- 1:40 pm: men's dinghy race 9 & 10
- 4:05: mixed dinghy race 7 & 8
Tuesday, August 6
- 11:03 am: men's kite race 9, 10, 11 & 12
- 11:13 am: women's kite race 9, 10, 11 & 12
- 11:15 am: mixed dinghy race 9 & 10
- 1:43 pm: women's dinghy medal race
- 2:05 pm: mixed multi-hull race 10, 11 & 12
- 2:43 pm: men's dinghy medal race
Wednesday, August 7
- 11:13 am: women's kite race 13, 14, 15 & 16
- 11:23 am: men's kite race 13, 14, 15 & 16
- 1:43 pm: mixed multi-hull medal race
- 2:43 pm: mixed dinghy medal race
Thursday, August 8
- 11:13 am: men's kite semi-finals and final races
- 12:13 pm: women's kite semi-finals and final races
All you need to know about the Olympic sailing
When does the Olympic sailing begin?
The first races of the 2024 Olympic sailing competition begin on Sunday, July 27, and they'll run for a week and a half.
Which events make up the Olympic sailing?
In total there are 10 Olympic sailing events. They're evenly distributed between men's and women's events (plus two mixed). Here's the full list:
Men's
- Windsurfing
- Kite
- Dinghy
- Skiff
Women's
- Windsurfing
- Kite
- Dinghy
- Skiff
Mixed
- Dinghy
- Multi-hull
Where does the Olympic sailing tournament take place?
All of the Olympic sailing races will be held at the Marseille Marina in the southern French coastal town of Marseille.
The Marseille Marina is one of the furthest areas of mainland France that'll be hosting an Olympic event, with most of the others situated in and around Paris.
How to watch other Olympic sports
If you want specific information on other Olympic sports, here are guides we have to the other activities which will be shown as part of the Paris Olympic games:
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Tom is the streaming and ecommerce writer at What to Watch, covering streaming services in the US and UK. His goal is to help you navigate the busy and confusing online video market, to help you find the TV, movies and sports that you're looking for without having to spend too much money.