UK Government announces support for bid to host 2029 World Athletics and Para Athletics Championships

The UK Government confirmed on Saturday that they will “provide significant funding” and be “backing a bid” to host the 2029 World Athletics and Para Athletics Championships.

First staged in 1983 and held biennially since 1993, the championships were last held in London in 2017 — five years after the Olympics and Paralympics came to the capital. This year’s edition will be held in Tokyo, Japan, starting in just under two months.

The announcement, which is “subject to funding from partners being confirmed,” comes on the day of the London Diamond League meet, the biggest one-day athletics meet, with the 60,000 capacity stadium sold out.

They will work with Athletic Ventures, who are the bidder, UK Sport plus the Greater London Authority. The bidding process opened (for the 2029 and 2031 World Championships) late last month, and pre-qualification forms must be submitted before October 1 this year.

In a press release Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer said it “would be a moment of great national pride, building on our global reputation for hosting memorable sporting events.”

He repeated the “inspire the next generation” phrase which had been a tagline of the 2012 Olympics and Paralympics, and said hosting “would provide a boost for UK businesses and support jobs.”

The bid includes a plan to host the Para Athletics World Championships in the same year, though a host city is undecided for that, and would be outside of London.

Various British athletes had taken to social media in recent weeks to try and drive support for a Government-backed bid, which would require £35m.

“After superb medal hauls over the last few years on the World, Olympic and Paralympic stage, athletics in the UK is on an upward trajectory, with new partners, record participation and sold-out stadia,” said Jack Buckner, the CEO of UK Athletics, in a press release. “This support will drive the sport on to new heights.”

The 2024 Olympics in Paris were Great Britain’s best in terms at a Games for total medals (10) since 1984 (16) and there were eight British records set. They outperformed even internal expectations and were the only nation to take a medal in all five relays: bronze in the men’s 4x100m, the women’s, mixed and men’s 4x400m, and a silver in the women’s 4x100m.

A successful bid would build on next year’s Commonwealth Games and European Athletics Championships, which will be hosted in Glasgow and Birmingham in the summer.

(Benjamin Cremel/AFP via Getty Images)

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