by Matteo Morelli

The 2026 European Figure Skating Championships is set to take place in Sheffield, from January 13 to January 18. The last time that Great Britain hosted the continental competition was in 2012, and more recently they held a Grand Prix event in 2022, the MK John Wilson Trophy.

With a max capacity of 13,600 spectators, Utilita Arena is ready to welcome the 30 teams competing for this year’s continental medals, representing a total of 21 countries. For some teams, this will be the last major international competition before the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan.

The Medal Hunt

France’s Laurence Fournier Beaudry and Guillaume Cizeron will enter their first European Championships as a new team, an event that Cizeron knows well (he won a total of six continental medals, including five gold, with former partner Gabriella Papadakis) and one that will be a first-ever experience for Fournier Beaudry, having previously represented Canada. Although this will only be their fourth international competition together, this very experienced duo has already collected fantastic results in their previous competitions: they won both their Grand Prix assignments (France and Finland) and won silver at the Grand Prix Final in Nagoya, Japan, posting some of the highest scores the season, alongside Madison Chock and Evan Bates.

Lilah Fear and Lewis Gibson have been waiting for this event with anticipation. They will be looking forward to competing on home ice, with both their programmes celebrating Great Britian: their rhythm dance is on music by the Spice Girls, while their free dance features traditional Scottish music, skated in tartan-inspired costumes. After winning bronze at last year’s World Championships, they have been enjoying another successful season so far, winning silver at Grand Prix de France, gold at NHK Trophy, bronze at the Grand Prix Final, and an eighth British National Championships title.

Italy’s Charlène Guignard and Marco Fabbri are the three-time consecutive European champions. They started this season with their first Grand Prix assignment in France, finishing fourth. However, they put in a great deal of work between their first and second Grand Prix events and earned a silver medal at NHK Trophy, which still wasn’t enough to qualify for the Grand Prix Final. With the Olympic Games taking place in Milan, where they train, they will aim to show their full potential in what is their sixteenth competitive year together, in a career filled with many important achievements.

Lithuania’s Allison Reed and Saulius Ambrulevičius won both their Grand Prix assignments (bronze in France and silver in Canada) and qualified for their first Grand Prix Final, where they finished fifth. Earlier in the season, they won the Skate to Milano event, which granted them a spot at the 2026 Winter Olympics, a dream come true after Reed finally obtained Lithuanian citizenship in 2024.

France’s Evgeniia Lopareva and Geoffrey Brissaud won bronze at both their Grand Prix assignments (Skate America and Cup of China). They won their first European medal last season, a silver, which showed how this team continues to progress in the field. They will be joined by the third team from France, Loïcia Demougeot and Théo le Mercier, who have collected a top ten finish from their last three appearances at the continental championships. 

Spain’s Olivia Smart and Tim Dieck enter their second European Championships together. Smart, originally from Sheffield, will be looking forward to performing in front of family and friends with her partner Dieck, including presenting their incredibly popular “Dune part two” free dance. Second Europeans also for the other Spanish team of Sofía Val and Asaf Kazimov, who are enjoying a lot of important results this season, including the qualification for their first Winter Olympic Games.

Fear and Gibson aren’t the only British team at the event: Phebe Bekker and James Hernandez are also incredibly excited to perform in front of home audiences and will do their best to enjoy the event and draw energy from it as they prepare for their first Winter Olympic Games. This season, they have also competed in their first Grand Prix events, starting at Skate America and then stepping in as last-minute replacements at Finlandia Trophy.

Finland’s Juulia Turkkila and Matthias Versluis are back to international competitions after a break due to Versluis recovering from a leg nerve injury. Having to withdraw from their Grand Prix assignments, they returned to the ice for the 2026 Finnish Championships, where they won a sixth national title. They will be joined by Yuka Orihara and Juho Pirinen, who unfortunately are unable to attend the Olympic Games due to Orihara not yet having Finnish citizenship.

The two Czech teams will also showcase their strength in view of the 2026 World Championships, which is due to take place in Prague, Czech Republic. Kateřina Mrázková and Daniel Mrázek recently won the Four National Championships and claimed the Czech national title. Natálie Taschlerová and Filip Taschler won silver at Nationals, and where just off the podium at NHK Trophy.

Georgia’s Diana Davis and Gleb Smolkin will be competing at their fourth European Championships, the third time representing Georgia. So far this season, they have won both their Challenger Series events (Denis Ten Memorial and Trialeti Trophy) and have also competed at Grand Prix de France and Finlandia Trophy. They will be joined by Maria Kazakova and Vladislav Kasinskij, who are making their debut at the senior European Championships together.

Sweden’s Milla Ruud Reitan and Nikolaj Majorov will enter their third European Championships, which now take on a completely different meaning, as Reitan finally obtained Swedish citizenship early in January. This allows them to compete at the Olympic Games after earning and ice dance spot for Sweden at the Skate to Milano event.

Event info: Teams have official practices from Tuesday, January 13. The rhythm dance kicks off on Friday, January 16, at 12:30pm (GMT), while the free dance occurs on Saturday, January 17, at 6:30pm (GMT).