Bosses 'assessing' 2026 athletics event amid Birmingham crisis

Organisers of the 2026 European Athletics Championships said they were "actively assessing" plans amid host city Birmingham's financial crisis.

European Athletics said it was aware of the city council's situation but insisted it still had "confidence" in the authority and its other partners.

The city council filed a section 114 order last week which means it is essentially bankrupt.

The renovated Alexander Stadium is set to be the venue for the event.

It will be the first time the Championships have been held in the United Kingdom and comes hot on the heels of Birmingham's successful - but costly - Commonwealth Games last year.

At the time of bidding to host the 2026 competition, the council's cabinet was asked to underwrite a contribution of £13.7m which would reduce with successful bids for funding to both UK Sport and the Department for Culture, Media & Sport.

The biennial event brings together athletes from across the continent and was last held in Munich in Germany in 2022 where 11 championship records were set across the seven days of competition.

The event is next due to be held in Rome in 2024.

In a statement, European Athletics, said: "We are actively assessing the situation in relation to the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships in conjunction with local organising committee and the Birmingham City Council and expecting to receive further information from the Birmingham City Council.

"European Athletics would also like to reiterate confidence in all our British-based partners for the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships including the local organising committee, Birmingham City Council, UK Athletics, and the other relevant UK governing sports bodies."

The council's financial woes are in part due to a £760m bill for equal pay claims, issues with the Oracle IT system and a projected deficit in its budget of £87m.

In July it had taken the decision to stop spending on all "non-essential" services - but what those are is, as yet, unclear, and it cannot commit to any new spending.

It still has to provide statutory services including education, social care and waste collections.

The council's recovery plan is due to be presented during an extraordinary meeting of full council on 25 September.

The Olympian and former chief executive of UK Athletics David Moorcroft said there was "great uncertainty in Birmingham generally".

"The council have got to make difficult decisions but the consequences of those decisions are going to affect thousands of people.

"It is 2026 that the European Championships are due to come to Birmingham so I think there's no need to, I think, press the panic button, there is three years to go.

"And I'm sure that all partners are working together because Birmingham aren't the only funders of this project."

Tony Hadley, chair of Birchfield Harriers, the athletics club based at the Alexander Stadium, said: "My concern is we've got a fantastic reputation for putting on major events, not just the Commonwealth but others before that.

"And if Birmingham was to pull out now, that would ruin that reputation.

"We've got three years to go, that's a long time in sport, that's a long time in politics, lets all be calm and just give the city and the government time in which to work this out."

Although the Commonwealth Games contributed at least £870m to the UK economy, former adviser to Birmingham City Council, Max Caller, said last summer's event had been a "challenge too far" for the authority.

The Australian state of Victoria had been due to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, but withdrew in July citing rising costs.

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