Coupe de Noël Genève, live.

100 metres of Lake Geneva in December

The Coupe de Noël is a 100 m swim in Lake Geneva in the week before Christmas, starting from a pontoon at the Jardin Anglais in the heart of Geneva.

The 88th edition is on Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 December 2026, and it is already full, with a waiting list open. The race was first held in 1934 and was added to the Swiss list of living traditions in 2023. It is organised by the Association CdN 1934.

Every race covers the same 100 m. Swimmers start from the Swissboat pontoon at the Jardin Anglais and swim downstream along the quay to a finish about 100 m away on the Promenade du lac. Wetsuits, gloves and fins are not allowed, so it is a short swim in swimsuits in water that is cold in December.

On Sunday 20 December the men's elite race starts at 10:00 and the women's elite race at 10:30. The timed 100 m chrono runs in age-category waves on Sunday morning between 8:30 and noon, with 500 places and a new category for swimmers aged 70 and over. The 100 m humoristique is the costume race, untimed and spread over both days, with 4,000 places and the first start at 08:30.

Spectators can watch from the quays around the start and finish, and the costume waves are as much a part of the weekend as the elite races. The entry fee is CHF 45, and the organiser's site has the full rules and practical information for swimmers and visitors.

On Livebib you can follow a swimmer live if they choose to share their own position from the phone they carry. That position comes from the swimmer, not from the organiser's timing, and the official results are published by the organiser.