Cliff Diving
Why this cliffside Italian town is one of the wildest sport venues on Earth
Once a year, when the cliff diving comes to town, Polignano a Mare in Puglia buzzes with anticipation as its dramatic cliffs are transformed into one of the most unique sporting arenas in the world.
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Since 2009, over 500,000 sports fans to date have flooded into the sun-drenched streets for one action-packed summer weekend in Italy’s Polignano a Mare.
Polignano turns out in force for the jaw-dropping spectacle
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
In what’s become almost an annual tradition, this laid-back town on Italy’s southern coast undergoes a transformation, shifting the pace from relaxed Mediterranean calm to full-blown buzz. Beaches overflow, balconies fill with cheering locals and the entire town pulses with energy.
The change in atmosphere can only mean one thing: the arrival of the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series.
Oleksiy Prygorov greets the Puglian crowd
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
When the world’s top cliff divers roll into town, they’re joined by Polignano a Mare residents, sports fans and holidaymakers who’ve timed their visit just right – lucky enough to witness 24 elite athletes perform gravity-defying dives up to 27m above the Adriatic Sea. For a few intense days, the Puglian cliffs become a natural coliseum, the sea becomes the landing zone, and the entire town becomes part of the adrenaline-fuelled competition.
Andrea Barnaba takes the plunge in Polignano
© Ricardo Nascimento/Red Bull Content Pool
But there’s more to Polignano a Mare than meets the eye. It’s not just a picture-postcard scenic stop on the World Series tour. It’s the stop.
To understand why Polignano a Mare has become the spiritual home of cliff diving in Europe for fans and competitors alike, take a look beyond the setting and dive into the emotion, tradition and raw intensity that make this place so iconic.
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Part ancient town, part arena in the sky
Two legends of cliff diving rank Polignano a Mare among their top spots
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
Set to host the event for a 12th year in 2025, it’s easy to see why Polignano a Mare has become a cornerstone of the World Series calendar. It’s the kind of destination that tops travel lists – for its historic architecture, endless sunshine, dramatic views and stunning sunsets. On any ordinary day, the view is almost cinematic – the terraces of Polignano a Mare’s old town rise dramatically from limestone cliffs, as if jostling for the best outlook over the classic Mediterranean vista.
The best seat in the house? Take your pick...
© Damiano Levati/Red Bull Content Pool
But aside from providing an idyllic backdrop for a one-of-a-kind sporting spectacle, this small slice of rugged Adriatic coastline also feels as if it was purpose-built for the sport.
Crowds line the beaches, cliffs, rooftops and terraces
© Mauro Puccini/Red Bull Content Pool
“It has its own unique touch on cliff diving,” explains Australian diver and eight-time King Kahekili trophy winner Rhiannan Iffland. ”Polignano is more than just a beautiful cliffside village. It’s one of my favourite arenas to do what we do.”
Yolotl Martínez launches from a private balcony: don't try this at home!
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
For two days each season, the iconic naturally formed amphitheatre-shaped cove of Lama Monachile, where the divers launch from the balconies of private residences and the 21m and 27m platforms, is flanked by crowds crammed atop the cliffs, on the beach and by spectators’ boats bobbing offshore.
Every vantage point is taken, so spectators can get creative
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
And while the natural arena provides plenty of VIP-level spectator spots with outstanding views of the three-second, 85kph jaw-dropping dives, it also offers a little bonus for the adventure-oriented divers, too.
Jonathan Paredes enjoys the crystal clear waters of the Adriatic coastline
© Ricardo Nascimento/Red Bull Content Pool
It’s a place where you can do your high dive and climb straight back up to the top of the platform, which is very rare – it hardly ever happens like that,” explains 10-time World Series champion and cliff diving legend Gary Hunt. “I love climbing the rocks there. Polignano combines my love of two sports – climbing and high diving, all rolled up into one.”
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Energy you can feel in your chest
With its dramatic coastal landscape, perhaps it’s no surprise that in Polignano a Mare, the affinity for cliff diving runs deep. Locals grow up jumping from the same cliff faces that surround the cove as those tackled by the athletes they come out to support… albeit usually from less dizzying heights.
The World Series has become a new tradition in the ancient town
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
The sport is now so interwoven into daily life that when the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series drops anchor, the whole town steps up, dialling up the festival-level energy.
... there’s also great food and a great atmosphere and that’s why we keep coming back to Polignano
“Outside of the diving, it’s a party on the weekend in town, there’s many additional events they’ve planned around the competition. It’s always nice to walk around and enjoy everything else going on,” remarks legendary diver and sports director Orlando Duque. “Polignano is a place where the people know divers by name, they know the standings, they’ve followed us and the World Series throughout the years. It’s nice to have that connection. Of course, being in Italy, there’s also great food and a great atmosphere, and that’s why we keep coming back to Polignano.”
When the venue matches your vibe
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
“I love it when I walk away from the competition and back to the hotel in Polignano,” adds Hunt. “I always have sore face muscles from the amount I’ve been smiling, whether it’s because I’ve been taking selfies with people or just being appreciative of all the congratulations. It’s definitely on a different level in that place,” he explains.
Since hosting Red Bull Cliff Diving in 2009, the whole spectacle has not only become a part of the town’s identity but also a part of the World Series’ own story. Over the years, Polignano a Mare and the World Series have helped shape each other’s legacy on the global stage. As Romanian diver Cǎtǎlin Preda put it:
The whole place and the event itself feels like its own tradition that comes with the sport
"There's just always something special every time in the air when we visit, especially for the Red Bull Cliff Diving World Series," Australia's Iffland emphasises. "The atmosphere and energy of the crowd is something that just really fills you up and really makes you enjoy the sport for what it is, instead of the competition."
Rhiannan Iffland triumphs in Polignano once again
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
That energy has never felt as palpable as it did in 2017, when Italian wildcard Alessandro De Rose claimed a fairytale victory on home soil. It was the first time a male wildcard had ever won a World Series event, and he did it in front of one of the most passionate crowds on the tour. For a diver to rise from within the host nation and win in a place so deeply linked with the sport felt like a full-circle moment.
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Alessandro De Rose's winning dive – Polignano a Mare
Watch the winning dive from Alessandro De Rose in the men's competition in Polignano a Mare, Italy.
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A close connection
With the legacy of the World Series now so firmly tied to its cliffs and local community, many divers, past and present, feel a strong bond with the southern Italian town.
Going back always feels like going home
“Polignano is one of the stops where the public is most connected with the divers,” France’s Gary Hunt recalls. “Maybe it’s because we have to walk through the beach and up through the town,” he muses, recalling the unusually long walk to the diving platform.
All three spectacular diving locations featured in the Puglian stop are generously made available by locals, who open their houses for the divers to launch from private balconies or terraces, right next to the cheering crowds.
So close you can hear every whisper
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
James Lichtenstein launches from the famous Polignano balcony
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
To gain access, each competitor must be chaperoned, weaving through the streets of the old town, passing shoppers, diners and cafe-goers, the divers clad in nothing more than their competition swimwear, a pair of sliders on their feet, maybe with a shammie slung over the shoulder.
Andrea Barnaba and Carlos Gimeno on the 'long walk' through the old town
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
The walk, the balcony dives, the close proximity – it's all a tradition unique to the Polignano stop, where the line between athlete and spectator briefly disappears, like a cheek-by-jowl rite of passage, and a chance for fans to cheer on their favourite athletes up close and personal. "But it seems like the people who come to watch really love the sport, and there are a lot of people who come to Polignano specifically to watch cliff diving," adds Hunt. "It's really become iconic for that place, and symbolic."
It’s cool to have that connection with the town
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La vita lenta
The intensity of competition can be all-consuming, but in Polignano a Mare, many divers quickly ease into the deep-rooted southern Italian custom of la vita lenta once they’re off the clock – a way of life that values simple pleasures, unhurried moments and good food shared in even better company.
Gary Hunt is a natural when it comes to la vita lenta
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
Polignano’s local cuisine has, unsurprisingly, become legendary among returning athletes… for good reason. It’s not just a perk, but part of the experience that makes this stop feel more like a homecoming than a competition.
“It’ll be my 10th year in Polignano a Mare, and I’m really, REALLY looking forward to going back,” explains Iffland. “Not only for the competition, but just to feel like I’m in a familiar place in Italy, where the food is amazing and the people are amazing. It always just brings such a positive energy, and it really allows you to have such a great time visiting.”
No diver has been on top of the Polignano podium more than Rhiannan Iffland
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
For Iffland, la vita lenta has clearly worked in her favour: 2025 will mark her 10th appearance in Polignano a Mare, where she’s previously claimed eight wins and one second-place finish at the Italian stop of the tour.
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Whatever the weather
While the Puglian town itself radiates a laid-back charm, in stark contrast, the weather isn’t always so mellow. The conditions here are part of the challenge and the thrill. One moment the Adriatic is calm, the next it’s churning with whitecaps, gusts of wind can whip unpredictably between the cliffside buildings and sunlight flickers across the water.
For divers perched on a platform up to 27m high, it adds an extra layer of risk and adrenaline that can sharpen focus or completely shift the outcome of a competition.
“It’s never easy… the wind and the waves have led to interesting competitions, and that’s what I love,” Hunt explains. “Some people prefer to dive in perfect conditions every time, but I’m definitely one of the divers that likes the adventure – things to deal with and adapt to. You never know if there could be a storm coming that could make some surprises for us,” he finishes, clearly enjoying the prospect.
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Polignano the story-maker
With its unique mix of festive energy, unique diving spots and unpredictable elements, where some stops test athletes to their limits, Polignano a Mare has a habit of defining them. Over the years, the Puglian cliff diving hotspot has quietly built a legacy as a stage where big moments – breakthroughs, firsts and comebacks – can (and often do) happen.
Where Orlando Duque started a legacy in Polignano a Mare...
© Predrag Vučković/Red Bull Content Pool
... Aidan Heslop continued it with a milestone of his own
© Dean Treml/Red Bull Content Pool
In the World Series’ very first season in 2009, it was Orlando Duque – legendary competitor, now Red Bull Cliff Diving sports director – who celebrated a major milestone, with the first-ever perfect 10 in World Series history.
Eight years later, Rhiannan Iffland took her first win in Italy… and hasn’t stopped since.
In 2018, a 16-year-old Aidan Heslop became the then-youngest athlete ever to compete in the World Series, diving with fearless precision from 27m into the Adriatic below. Just a year later, Colombia’s Maria Paula Quintero, then just 18, landed her first World Series podium here, which still remains a career-best result.
More recently, in 2024 Romania's Constantin Popovici staged an unexpected comeback in Polignano, returning just three weeks after a serious knee injury to pull off a stunning victory in one of the gutsiest performances of the season, and his career so far.
“Interestingly, Italian divers always have very good results in Polignano – like Alessandro De Rose and Andrea Barnaba,” Orlando Duque reflects. “So we’ll see what it’s going to look like this year, especially knowing that our current World Series champion, Aidan Heslop, is out due to an injury. Everything is open!”
A room with a view: Italy's Andrea Barnaba launches from a private balcony
© Romina Amato/Red Bull Content Pool
And with GOAT Gary Hunt arriving in Polignano a Mare as a wildcard – fresh off a remarkable comeback win at the season opener in El Nido, his first victory since the season finale in 2022 – there’s every chance another chapter in the town’s cliff diving history could be written in 2025. But Hunt seems less focused on personal glory and more on what the competition might bring.
I’ll be hoping for some surprises and new people on the podium
“We’ve had a lot of firsts in this competition, and surprise winners and podium-makers. That’s what I’ll be looking forward to," he says.
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Catch the action
Whatever magic it holds for spectators and athletes alike, one thing is certain: in the world of extreme sports, there’s nowhere on Earth quite like Polignano. Ahead of the next Red Bull Cliff Diving Polignano a Mare stop on June 28-29, the defending World Series champion Rhiannan Iffland has the last word:
Did someone take a hard landing or throw an extraordinary dive?
© Mauro Puccini/Red Bull Content Pool
“What sticks with me most about Polignano are the incredible fans who show up year after year. And of course, the sunsets, the gelato and the charm of the old square as we walk through the streets in only a swimsuit ready for the next dive! What’s not to love!”
Watch all the Polignano Finals action on Red Bull TV right here on June 29 from 5pm CEST (3pm UTC).
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