Larbert's Torwood Garden Centre will ensure WOC 2024 will bloom

Torwood Garden Centre in Larbert will be providing the bouquets to be presented to the medal winners, while the family business will also be decorating the medal podium at the event which is at several venues across the capital.

Three Scottish athletes will be pulling on their Great Britain vests as they represent their country at the championships from today (Friday) until Tuesday, July 16. Brother and sister, Peter and Grace Molloy from Linlithgow, and Freddie Carcas from Edinburgh will form a GB team of 10 athletes in five days racing in the Capital.

Often thought of as a countryside sport, WOC 2024 will be staged on all Edinburgh’s urban terrain has to offer, with the capital’s iconic landmarks providing the perfect backdrop for the elite courses.

The event is yet another opportunity for the public to watch elite sport in the capital – but this time for free.

There are free family activities are on offer throughout the championships, including orienteering mazes, fun races and all the action on live screens. The orienteering maze and big screen will feature in Princes Street Garden today (Friday), followed by fun races for kids and adults alike at The Meadows, as well as another orienteering maze, from Saturday, July 13 until Monday, July 15.

With Great Britain finishing second in the medal table at the last Sprint World Orienteering Championships in Denmark in 2022, the host nation will be looking to go one better and top the table.

Grace Molloy, who is in contention for one of the top places, explained how she is feeling about competing in front her home crowd: “I’m excited to race in a city as iconic as Edinburgh, especially as it is 30 minutes from my home, and I’m looking forward to truly challenging the best athletes in the world.

"This is the first WOC where I’ve had the speed to match the top women and I’m hoping to achieve top ten positions in the individual races and a medal in the relay."

The five-day orienteering festival also features amateur races for all ages and levels, with competitors as young as ten and some in their 80s. The ‘WOC Tour’ will allow competitors, from those relatively new to the sport up to experienced recreational athletes, to experience the best of urban orienteering.

The first elite finals will be the Individual Sprint taking place finishing in Princes Street Gardens. The action continues on Sunday, July 14 at Heriot Watt University with the Team Sprint Relay. On Tuesday, July 16 the Knockout Sprint qualifications take place at Wester Hailes with the finals finishing on St John Street in central Edinburgh.