You have qualified for Regional Qualifiers? Congratulations! If you want to register for one of the Regional Qualifiers, please click here.

You want to know more? Just keep reading! To accommodate participants from around the world, Hippo organizes Regional Qualifiers across several locations, making it more convenient for students to attend. These regions are pre-established based on participant numbers and their geographical distribution in previous Hippo years.

Pre-Set Regions
The regions for the qualifiers are as follows:

Mediterranean Countries (Europe & North Africa)
Other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea 
Continental Europe
Middle East
Central Asia 
Indian Subcontinent
Southeast Asia  
Far East
Africa
America
Oceania.

Locations and Dates for the 2026 Regional Qualifiers
Mediterranean Europe, Continental Europe and other countries bordering the Mediterranean Sea
Location: Jesolo (Venice), Italy
Date: 17-20 May 2026
Participating Countries: Albania, Algeria, Armenia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Estonia, Ghana, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Kosovo, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Nigeria, Niger, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovenia, Slovakia, Sudan, Tanzania, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.

Greater Middle East and Central Asia
Location: Baku, Azerbaijan
Date: 22-25 June 2026
Participating Countries: Afghanistan, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Egypt, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kuwait, Mongolia, Pakistan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Asia – Pacific
Location: Thailand (the exact location to be announced)
Date: 4-6 July 2025
Participating Countries: Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, China, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Laos, Macau, Malaysia, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand,Venezuela, Vietnam.

Americas
Location: Buenos Aires, Argentina
Date: 7 – 10 September 2026
Participating Countries: Brazil, Venezuela and other countries in the North or South America joining Hippo in 2026.

Participation Criteria
If enrolments in a specific region reach 1,000 students (with at least 50 per Hippo category) in the 2026 edition, Qualifiers will be held. Students who rank highly but do not make it to the World Finals will be eligible to participate. The number of students admitted per category and country will be proportional to the number of participants in the preliminary round.

Important Details
– The Regional Qualifiers will be held in person. Online examinations will not be offered.
– Initially, the top 20% of students not qualified for the World Finals will be invited to the Regional Qualifiers. Their names will appear highlighted in yellow on the ranking list.
– The minimum qualification to be invited is 70% of the first-place points. 

Fees and Logistics
– A participation fee will be required, covering insurance, merchandising, activities, and exam materials.
– In some cases, a package including accommodation and participation fees will be offered through an exclusive service provider. Participants who book accommodation via this provider will not need to pay the participation fee separately.
– Participants and their accompanying teachers/parents will cover their own travel and accommodation costs.
– Hippo will provide suggested accommodation options, allowing participants to select based on their preferences.

Examination
The examination will consist of a Hippo Test of English: 30 Use of English open-ended questions and a crossword puzzle. Sample tests are available on the Sample Papers page of the Hippo website.

Event Schedule
– Students and their accompanying adult should arrive the day before the examination date.
– The three-day program will be published on the Hippo website as well as Hippo social media.   – The program will be sent to the participants and their families along with the booking information.

Advancement
The first-place winners from each category in every region will advance to the World Finals.