The 2024 European Athletics Championships has been awarded to Rome whilst the 2023 European Indoors goes to Istanbul

This week the European Athletics Council Meeting took place virtually and delegates from both Rome (ITA) and Katowice-Silesia (POL) had the opportunity to present their bids for European Athletics’ flagship event in 2024.

European Athletics Interim President Dobromir Karamarinov said: “We are very pleased to announce that Rome will be hosting the 2024 European Athletics Championships and we would like to thank Katowice-Silesia for their excellent bid as well.

“Italy has already demonstrated they are capable of staging excellent athletics championships across all age-groups and I am sure that athletes and fans alike will look forward to travelling to Rome in 2024.”

Proud history

This will be the third time Italy has staged the now-biennial European Athletics Championships after Turin held the inaugural edition in 1934 followed by Rome in 1974 when Pietro Mennea famously won the 200m title for the host nation.

This will also be the first major athletics competition to be held in the Italian capital since the 1987 World Athletics Championships which was highlighted by Bulgaria’s Stefka Kostadinova setting the still-standing world high jump record of 2.09m.

The 2024 European Athletics Championships will take place in the famous Stadio Olimpico which staged both the 1974 European Athletics Championships and 1987 World Athletics Championships as well as the 1960 Olympic Games.

Renovated in 1990, the Stadio Olimpico, which also stages the annual Wanda Rome Diamond League meeting, holds up to 70,000 spectators.

The Katowice-Silesia (POL) bid will now enter into discussions with European Athletics concerning the hosting of a future edition of the European Athletics Championships. A delegation headed by European Athletics CEO Christian Milz will travel to the region for preliminary talks in the coming weeks.

Istanbul to host 2023 European Indoors

Turkey will host a major European Athletics event for the first time after Istanbul was announced as the host of the 2023 European Indoors.

Karamarinov said: “Istanbul submitted a strong bid and the Council is very pleased to award the 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships to Istanbul.

“The facilities in Istanbul are among the best in Europe which will help the athletes to achieve their best performance. I’m sure all visitors will enjoy the famous Turkish hospitality as well.”

Istanbul did stage the 2012 World Indoor Championships where Ukraine’s Nataliya Dobrynska broke the world pentathlon record and Great Britain & NI famously upset the United States in the women’s 4x400m relay.

The 2023 European Athletics Indoor Championships will be held again in the Atakoy Athletics Arena, a 7000-seater which was built specifically for the 2012 World Indoor Championships.

Want to run faster? For just £30 per month athletes are provided with a Final Surge plan for each day of the week, coaching advice from Robbie Britton and Tom Craggs, as well as access to the unique Fast Running Performance community.

If you would like more information on joining the project, click here.