WEST HAM’s London Stadium has been given the green light to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships.
The 60,000-seater East London arena – which held the Olympics and Paralympics in 2012 – staged the flagship event of track-and-field in 2017.
And Prime Minister Keir Starmer has given the go-ahead for £45million investment to go towards the delivery of the Worlds in four years’ time.
An official bid will now be submitted by the Athletic Ventures company to World Athletics before the end of September and a decision on the hosts will be made at the back-end of 2026.
Tokyo is the destination for the 2025 Worlds while Beijing is earmarked for 2027.
The 2029 World Para Athletics Championships – which is also part of the prospective bid – will not happen in the capital and is likely to take place in either Birmingham or Glasgow.
The Government threw its full support behind the bid, claiming it would boost the UK economy.
Starmer said: “Bringing the World Athletics Championships to the UK would be a moment of great national pride, building on our global reputation for hosting memorable sporting events that showcase the very best talent.
“Hosting these championships would not only unlock opportunities for UK athletes but it would inspire the next generation to get involved and pursue their ambitions.
“The event would provide a boost for UK businesses and support jobs as well as bring our communities together. I’m delighted to support the bid.”
The Hammers have played Premier League football at the stadium since decamping from the demolished Upton Park in 2017.
Seb Coe – World Athletics chief since 2015 – will make the call alongside other Council members in Monaco next year.
Yet Britain’s double Olympic 1500 metres champion warned that it would be a “competitive” process and gave no guarantees, despite his nationality and past connection to Team GB, that London would be successful.
Coe, 68, said: “We are starting the process now. It is officially open. It will be competitive. There are a lot of good cities out there.
“The bidding 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.
“We are actually now looking at where do we need to be strategically? What are the things we are trying to achieve?
“There is a much more strategic approach to this and instead of just sitting there saying Federation A, B or C fancies staging a world championships.
“We look at where we need to be and the types of markets we need to access and use them to invigorate the sport, maybe in various parts of the world.
“I’m not going to be choosing winners or losers now but London has some very clear and obvious assets. We are an athletics-loving nation and people turn up.”
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