Birmingham City Council has hailed the success of the Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships following a wonderful week of sport in the city.
The event reached its climax on Sunday after a week of bumper crowds both in Alexander Stadium and the city centre.
Ticket sales surpassed targets set by event organisers, with a total attendance of 218,135 across seven days of competition, finishing with three successive sold-out evening sessions.
The weekend also saw fans given the opportunity to experience the excitement of Birmingham 2026 free of charge, with Saturday’s race walking events and Sunday’s marathons taking place in the city centre.
Meanwhile, thousands more enjoyed the ‘Champions Square’ fanzone in Centenary Square, funded by Birmingham City Council’s ‘Together on Culture’ programme, while the Unity 1k and 5k races offered a unique opportunity for fans to take home their own medals from the Championships.
Spectators from Birmingham and beyond, as well as Europe’s most passionate athletics fans, provided a wall of noise and kaleidoscope of colour, while millions more across Europe followed the action on TV.
Marking the first time the United Kingdom has hosted the European Athletics Championships, Birmingham 2026 provided many memorable moments for fans to savour. The top-class nature of the action was reflected by 16 competition records and four European records, as well as two world record finishes in the women’s marathon and half-marathon race walks.
Team Great Britain and Northern Ireland finished second on the medal table, helped by the dominant performance of its 100m sprinters, who secured a clean sweep of gold medals across individual and relay events. Amy Hunt went home with four gold medals, while Dina Asher-Smith became the European Championships’ all-time most decorated athlete.
Birmingham City Council and Birmingham Community Leisure Trust, who manage Alexander Stadium, have been involved in supporting the planning and delivery led by local organising committee Athletic Ventures, alongside funding partners UK Sport, DCMS and WMCA. The success of the Championships yet again demonstrates the excellent collaborative working across city and regional stakeholders and multi-agency partners.
Recapturing the atmosphere of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, the European Athletics Championships marked the first of three successive summers of major events in Birmingham, with the Invictus Games taking place in the city next summer, followed by four UEFA EURO 2028 Games being hosted at Villa Park.
The European Athletics Championships will also leave a lasting legacy in the city through its impact programme ‘Beyond’, which will provide support and funding to help young people get active and become involved in community sport, in addition to jobs and skills development opportunities through the Birmingham Major Events Skills Academy, student placements and volunteering.
Councillor Deborah Harries, Cabinet Member for Culture at Birmingham City Council, said: “The Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships has showcased our city at its very best, with Europe’s best athletes, backed by 218,000 passionate fans and millions more watching at home, delivering an event that never failed to inspire or entertain.
“Events of this scale are a fantastic way to grow the global profile of our city. With the Birmingham 2027 Invictus Games and UEFA EURO 2028 set to be hosted here over the next two years, in addition to our wide and varied programme of sporting and cultural events, we’re delighted that this wonderful Championships has underlined Birmingham’s status as a world class host of major sporting events.”