The IBU elected Oestersund, SWE as the host of the IBU World Championships Biathlon 2031 during the first day of the 17th Ordinary Congress in Berchtesgaden. Oestersund is the capital of the mid-Swedish region Jämtland. The Oestersund biathlon arena, located just 2km from the city centre, is a modern, compact stadium that regularly hosts the world’s best athletes during the World Cup season.

Oestersund was the season opener venue in four out of the last six seasons - 2019/2020, 2021/2022, 2023/2024 and 20252026. It also hosted the World Championships in 2008 and 2019.

In 2008, Emil Hegle Svendsen of Norway won the Individual and Mass Start as the most successful man, while Andrea Henkel of Germany won the Sprint-Pursuit double as the most successful woman. Norway and Germany each won eight medals, but Norway had four golds to Germany’s two.

The 2019 IBU World Championships saw the Single Mixed Relay make its World Champs debut. There were four different gold medalists in the individual competitions among men and women: Johannes Thingnes Boe of Norway and Anastasiya Kuzmina of Slovakia won the Sprint; Dmytro Pidruchnyi of Ukraine and Denise Herrmann of Germany won the Pursuit; Swedish rising star Hanna Oeberg and Arnd Peiffer of Germany won the Individual; while Italy’s Dominik Windisch and Dorothea Wierer saved their finest hour to win the wildly chaotic Mass Start, where wind played games with the athletes on the shooting range.

With the winning slogan—"Welcome to Biathland and the future of biathlon"—Oestersund promises athletes and fans an incredible experience in 2031.