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The floor of the World Cup Finals 2026 in Geneva, dancers seated in a circle under the national flags
Season 2026-27 is openNext Finals 8 to 11 Oct 2027Geneva

Since 2023 · One world title per role, every year

Bachata Social
World Cup

Find the best social dancers in the world, and bring the world together doing it.

Dance a qualifier at a festival near you, win your place, and compete for the world title in Geneva.

Find a qualifierHow it works
Bachata Social World Cup
Dancers registered
Countries represented
0
Events in the 2026-27 season
0
National and continental cups

01 · How the World Cup works

One season. One world final.

The Bachata Social World Cup is not a single event. It is a season of qualifiers at bachata festivals around the world, from October to September, that ends with the World Cup Finals 2027 in Geneva. Every place in the Finals is won on a dance floor.

  1. A couple dancing with bibs during a heat
    01

    Dance a qualifier

    Official social competitions at bachata festivals all over the world. Anyone can register as a leader or a follower, and the best of each role win their place.

  2. A follower with bib 97 dancing a heat
    02

    Go through a cup

    Most qualifiers belong to a national or continental cup. Some cups end in a cup final whose podium goes to Geneva; in others there is no final and every qualifier sends its winners straight to the Finals.

  3. The full hall in Geneva during the World Cup weekend
    03

    Dance the World Cup Finals

    Every October the qualified leaders and followers of the season meet in Geneva. Four rounds later, one of each is world champion.

Season 2026-27

Three ways to Geneva

117 events in 45 countries, 9 cups

Qualifier→Finals

National qualifiers

5 events this season send their best leaders and followers straight to the Finals.

Qualifier→Cup final→Finals

National cups

5 countries run a cup. Qualify at a local event, then make the podium at your country's cup final.

Qualifier→Continental cup→Finals

Continental cups

North American Cup, Asian Cup, South American Cup, European Cup. Some end in a cup final, others send the winners of each qualifier straight to the Finals.

The cups of 2026-27

Cups and paths

02 · The final destination

World Cup Finals 2027

One weekend.
Two world champions.

8 to 11 October 2027Geneva, Switzerland

Every October the 90 leaders and 90 followers who won their place during the season meet in Geneva, during Bachata Geneva Festival. Over two days and four rounds, one leader and one follower are crowned world champions.

World Cup Finals 2027 Format and rules
Two finalists raising their arms on the floor of the World Cup Finals 2026
Bachata Social World Cup Finals medal
Places, won during the season
90L + 90F
Places, won during the season
International judges
19
International judges
Nations at the 2026 Finals
47
Nations at the 2026 Finals
Prize money, €2,000 per champion
€5,000
Prize money, €2,000 per champion

Dancers per round, for leaders and for followers

  1. Prelims
    90
  2. Quarters
    45
  3. Semi-final
    16
  4. Final
    6
  5. Champion
    1
Meet the judges Watch the 2026 replays

03 · Hall of Fame

The world champions

One world title per role each year, won on the social floor in front of an international panel of judges.

Victor Victor and Melany Mejia on stage in Geneva with their World Cup trophies and the World Champion 2026 cheques

World champions 2026

Victor VictorLeader · Japan
Melany MejiaFollower · Colombia

Geneva · 10 and 11 October 2026

  1. 2026
    Victor VictorJapan
    Melany MejiaColombia
  2. 2025
    Jerem Dos ReisFrance
    Raquel Quesada MartínSpain
  3. 2024
    Diger BachataFrance
    Liza ChebotarovaUkraine
  4. 2023
    Aitor BarredoSpain
    Janette KravetsEstonia
Every podium in the Hall of Fame Full 2026 results

04 · A social competition

Connection over show.

The best social dancer is not the one with the most tricks. It is the one who listens, adapts and makes every partner feel good. That connection is what the judges look for first.

You lead or follow the way you would on any social floor, with partners you did not choose and songs you did not pick.

A couple laughing in an embrace while the other competitors watch from the floor

Many partners, drawn at random

Heats and partners are random, and partners switch during every song. In one heat of the Finals prelims you can dance with up to 21 people, so no single partnership decides your result.

Music you cannot rehearse

The playlist is never announced. The DJ picks the songs on the day, from classics to new wave, so there is no routine to prepare: you listen and you dance.

Leaders and followers apart

Leaders are ranked against leaders and followers against followers. Each role has its own podium and its own world champion.

How the judges decide

What the judges look for

Foundations, technique, connection, musicality and expression, all weighed the same.

Read more

How results are calculated

Each judge scores every dancer, the scores become rankings, and a majority of judges decides each place.

Read more

The music

What the DJs play at the World Cup, and the mix of the 2026 Finals to practise with.

Read more
Hundreds of national flags waving over the crowd at the Parade of Nations
Couples with bibs dancing a heat of the World Cup Finals
Dancers celebrating on stage with the Spanish flag
Two dancers in a warm embrace on the edge of the floor
Followers laughing together after a round
The Swedish delegation cheering on stage
Finalists dancing in a line across the floor
Flags in the crowd during the quarter finals
A couple posing on the floor, the follower wearing bib 20
The French flag flying over dancers on stage
A drummer leading the dancers around the floor
The host on the microphone between rounds
The floor of the Finals seen behind a row of national flags
The hall lit in red with flags raised during the Parade of Nations

World Cup weekend 2026 in Geneva, photos by @pabloriosphotography and @frencyphoto.See all the photos

05 · Season 2026-27 is open

Your road to Geneva 2027 starts now

Pick an event near you, register as a leader or a follower, and dance. You only need to know how to social dance.

Find a qualifier See them on the map

Run a bachata festival?

Host an official qualifier and give the dancers of your region a path to the World Cup. We provide the format, the judging system and the platform.

Host a qualifier

Coming up

All 71 events
24OctSatGermanyCologne Qualifier 2Pure Bachata Winter Festival · Cologne, Germany5L+5Fqualify forGerman ChampionshipLive: Happening now: follow it on the event page31OctSatSwitzerlandBachata Geneva J&J League - October 2026Bachata Geneva Night - 31.10.2026 | Halloween Edition · Geneva, Switzerland4L+4Fqualify forSwiss CupOpen: Registration open: 12L + 15F places left31OctSatUnited KingdomEngland QualifierPulse bachata festival · London, United Kingdom1L+1Fqualify forWorld Cup Finals 2027European CupOpen: Registration open: 30L + 24F places left31OctSatGermanyFrankfurt Qualifier 3FluxDance presents: The Bachata Flow Generation · Frankfurt, Germany5L+5Fqualify forGerman ChampionshipOpen: Registration open: 37L + 38F places left1NovSunAustraliaOceania Qualifier - Brisbane
Majorqualifier: sends up to 3 leaders and 3 followers to the Finals
Next Level Bachata Festival · Brisbane, Australia3L+3Fqualify forWorld Cup Finals 2027Open: Registration open: 22L + 17F places left7NovSatGermanyFrankfurt Qualifier 4Gran Bachata Latin Festival · Frankfurt, Germany5L+5Fqualify forGerman ChampionshipOpen: Registration open: 60L + 60F places left