In a decade of sport, Gulf visitors to Britain will have the opportunity to see one of the world’s greatest sporting events held in one of the world’s greatest cities five years on from London 2012.
The UK capital has been awarded host city by the International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) for the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships following a successful bid by UK Athletics, Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), the Mayor of London, London & Partners and UK Sport.
Some 26 council members from the IAAF delivered their verdict in Monaco following final bid reviews from shortlisted candidates London and Doha.
Continuing London’s Olympic legacy the 2017 athletics world championships will be held at the Olympic Stadium, representing each of the IAAF’s 212 member nations, including the UAE.
Carol Maddison, manager UAE, VisitBritain, said: “Winning the right to host the World Athletics Championships in 2017 reinforces to sports fans from the UAE and Gulf region that London is positioned as a global leader for major sporting events and that the capital city continues to invest in top flight facilities that bring together the international community.”
The successful bid to host the 2017 championships is one of a number of high profile sporting fixtures post-2012 including the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, the 2013 ITU World Championship Series Triathlon Grand Final and the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships.
Alongside the 2017 World Athletics Championships will run the legacy programme LEAP 2017, an international initiative based on London 2012’s International Inspiration Project. LEAP 2017 has been designed to engage two million children in athletics across 17 developing countries over four years.