World Championships

The World Curling Championships began in 1959 as the Scotch Cup. The Scotch Cup was created by Toronto public relations executive and former sports journalist Stanley D. Houston on behalf of the Scotch Whisky Association, a client of Houston's agency Public Relations Services Limited, which was looking to generate increased North American exposure for its products.^[] The first three Cups were contested between men's teams from Scotland and Canada. The United States joined the Scotch Cup in 1961, and Sweden also joined the next year. Canada won the first six world titles, of which the legendary rink skipped by Ernie Richardson earned four. The United States was the first country to break Canada's streak, winning their first world title in 1965. By 1967, Norway, Switzerland, France, and Germany were added to the Scotch Cup, and Scotland won their first title, while Canada finished without a medal for the first time. The tournament was renamed the Air Canada Silver Broom the year after that, and Canada strung together five consecutive world titles starting in that year.

In 1973, the competing field was expanded to ten teams, and Italy and Denmark were introduced to the world stage. Sweden, Switzerland, and Norway won their first titles in the following years, and Canada continued to win medals of all colours. In 1979, the first edition of the women's World Curling Championships was held. The championships were held separately from the men's championships for the first ten years. During this time, Switzerland, Canada, Sweden, Denmark, and Germany won world titles.

Bronze medals were not awarded until 1985 for the women's tournament and 1986 for the men's tournament. Between 1989 and 1994, the bronze medal was shared by the semifinals losers.

Beginning in 1989, the men's and women's championships were held together. Norway won their first world women's title. In 1995, Ford Canada and the World Curling Federation reached an agreement to make Ford the sponsor of the World Curling Championships. Japan, the first nation from Asia to compete in the worlds, made their debut in 1990 at the women's championship, and later in 2000 at the men's championship. South Korea and China followed suit in the 2000s. Scotland won their first women's title in 2002, and the United States won their first women's title the next year.

In 2005, the men's and women's championships were separated, and an agreement was made between the World Curling Federation and the Canadian Curling Association that Canada would host one of the tournaments annually each year, all of which are title sponsored by Ford of Canada. Canada began a streak of top two finishes in the men's tournament, and China won their first world title in the women's tournament in 2009.

In 2008, a world championship for mixed doubles curling was created. Switzerland won the first world mixed doubles title, and proceeded to win four of the first five titles. Russia and Hungary won their first world curling titles in the mixed doubles championship, and New Zealand, France, Austria, and the Czech Republic won their first world curling medals.

In 2015, a world championship for mixed curling was created, replacing the European Mixed Curling Championship and supplanting the European Mixed and Canadian Mixed curling championships as the highest level of mixed curling in the world.

In 2019, the World Qualification Event was introduced, to qualify the final two teams in the men's and women's championships. A mixed doubles qualification event will also be added in the 2019–20 curling season, qualifying the final four teams of the twenty-team mixed doubles championship.

In 2020, the men's, women's and mixed doubles championships were cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The World Curling Championships have been known by a number of different names over the years.

Men

• 1959–1967: Scotch Cup
• 1968–1985: Air Canada Silver Broom
• 1986–1988: IOC President's Cup (Hexagon)
• 1989–1990: WCF Championships
• 1991–1992: Canada Safeway World Curling Championship
• 1993–1994: WCF Championships
• 1995–2004: Ford World Curling Championship
• 2005–2017: Ford World Men's Curling Championship (odd years)
• 2006–2018: World Men's Curling Championship (even years)
• 2019: Pioneer Hi-Bred World Men's Curling Championship
• 2020–present: LGT World Men's Curling Championship (even years)
• 2021–present: BKT Tires & OK Tire World Men's Curling Championship (odd years)

Women

• 1979–1981: Royal Bank of Scotland World Curling Championships
• 1982: World Curling Championships
• 1983: Pioneer Life World Curling Championships
• 1984: World Curling Championships
• 1985: H&M World Curling Championships
• 1986–1990: World Curling Championships
• 1991–1992: Canada Safeway World Curling Championships
• 1993–1994: World Curling Championships
• 1995–2004: Ford World Curling Championships
• 2005–2017: World Women's Curling Championship (odd years)
• 2006–2018: Ford World Women's Curling Championship (even years)
• 2019–present: LGT World Women's Curling Championship (odd years)
• 2022–present: BKT Tires & OK Tire World Women's Curling Championship (even years)