It was founded by Torbjørn Yggeseth for the 1979/80 season and organized by the International Ski Federation.

[1] The rounds are hosted primarily in Europe, with regular stops in Japan and rarely in North America.

These have been hosted in total 21 countries around the world for both men 20 and women: Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, China, Canada, Czech Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Sweden, Switzerland and the United States.

The maps display all 65 locations around the globe that have hosted World Cup events for men (58) and women (31) at least one time in the history of the competition.

Qualifying round for the main event was introduced in 1990 to limit the number of competitors.

*This additional title was awarded from 1996 to 2000 for the best individual normal and large hill results only.The winner received a small Crystal Globe.