Seb Coe has warned Great Britain faces stiff competition to host the World Athletics Championships in 2029 with rival interest from major cities in different continents.
Athletic Ventures formally announced the UK bid on Saturday with the backing of Prime Minister Keir Starmer who said: ‘Bringing the championships to the UK would be a moment of great national pride.’
In his capacity as President of World Athletics, Coe acknowledged the strengths of a British bid but stressed there would be other strong contenders before the decision is made at the end of next year.
‘London has some very clear and obvious assets. We are an athletics-loving nation and people turn up. But it will be competitive. There are a lot of good cities out there,’ he said.
‘I’m not going to give a list of runners and riders but there are cities who have already expressed an interest and are engaging with us. The process has been more interactive than it used to be.
‘In the old days, you would sit there waiting for a federation to raise its hands. There is a much more strategic approach now. Instead of us sitting there saying waiting to see which Federations raise their hands, we look at the types of markets we need to access and use them to invigorate the sport in various parts of the world.
Seb Coe has warned Britain faces competition for the World Athletics Championships in 2029
The UK’s bid was formally announced on Saturday with the backing of Prime Minister Starmer
Britain’s 4x400metres team from the 1997 championship were given gold medals on Saturday
The Olympic Stadium also hosted the World Athletics Championships to great success in 2017
‘We are reaching out as much as we are being approached. I’m not going to be choosing winners or losers now.’
Jon Ridgeon, CEO of World Athletics, added: ‘We can say we have got bidding cities from multiple continents. When you get a mega-property like the world championships, demand is going up.’
The 2012 Olympic Stadium in London also hosted the World Athletics Championships to great success in 2017. On Saturday, 60,000 tickets were sold for a star-studded Diamond League meeting which also saw Great Britain’s 4x400metres relay team from the 1997 Athens world championships belatedly handed their gold medals having initially finished second in the race but then upgraded because Antonio Pettigrew from the US team was later found guilty of drugs offences.
Starmer has pledged to match ‘considerable funding’ from potential partners to help Britain stage the 2029 championships in London, and Paralympic championships in a different British city.
‘The events would provide a boost for UK businesses and support jobs and well as bring our communities together. I am delighted to support the bid,’ he said.
Jack Buckner, CEO of UK Athletics, said: ‘We would like to thank the Government for supporting these bids. Staging this events in the UK will not only inspire today’s elite athletes, but those of tomorrow, and engage millions in our sport.’
Helping to choose the site of the 2029 games will be one of the last major jobs for Coe before he leaves the Presidency in 2027. He is already helping Manchester United chief Sir Jim Ratcliffe with his plans to build a new stadium on the current Old Trafford site.
Coe was one of Britain’s greatest-ever sportsmen, winning gold medals in two Olympic Games, before embarking on a career in administration and heading up organisation of the 2012 London Olympics.
