Sport

Europe keen to win race for world championships in 2017

ATHLETICS: THE IAAF need to strike a balance between taking athletics to new markets and maintaining the sport’s popularity …

Thu Nov 10 2011 - 00:00

ATHLETICS:THE IAAF need to strike a balance between taking athletics to new markets and maintaining the sport's popularity in western Europe, meeting organisers said ahead of this week's decision to choose London or Doha as 2017 world championship hosts.

London, which will stage next year’s Olympics, goes head-to-head with the Qatari capital for the right to host the global showpiece, with the sport’s governing body set to announce their decision after a vote in Monte Carlo tomorrow.

Moscow will stage the event in two years’ time and will be followed by Beijing in 2015. The South Korean city of Daegu staged the 2011 event, following on from Berlin in 2009.

“We love our colleagues from Doha . . . but the championship will have been quite a bit outside of (western) Europe by then and we think it would be good if we could have it back here and show that level of athletics to the European public again,” Patrick Magyar, meeting director of Zurich’s Weltklasse said.

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Magyar, said that while the IAAF had a duty “to promote athletics as a worldwide presentation”, choosing Doha over London could affect the sport’s exposure in Europe.

“If athletics loses popularity in its strong markets, and we are part of the strong markets in Europe, then obviously that will have an affect.

“We think the IAAF would be well advised to have an equilibrium between development on the one hand, and keeping up the strong markets on the other hand.

“As European promoters we would love the championship to be every second time in Europe.”

Both Hengelo meeting director Jan Arie Bijl and Stockholm meeting director Rajne Soderberg said the IAAF could not afford to keep the showpiece away from Western Europe for long.

“Commercially it would be better for us if it was in London,” Bijl said.

“It would be good for athletics and our meetings if it was in Western Europe.”

Soderberg, who is chairman of Euromeetings, a group representing top European one-day meetings, said that if Doha emerged victorious tomorrow the next event in 2019 needed to return to Europe.

“We have the London Olympics in 2012 so it’s not that terrible if it goes to Doha, but it cannot be outside Europe every single time,” he said.

“It is best to have it in Europe . . . there is more spectator interest and if you stay away from Europe for too many years it could affect that interest. I know it was difficult for fans in Sweden to go to Daegu. It affects overall interest of course.”