British Athletics has confirmed UoB as the venue for both the Müller British Athletics 10,000m Championships and the European Athletics 10,000m Cup on Saturday 5th June. The British Athletics event will act as a trial for the Olympic Games.

The events were due to be held in Highgate as part of the Night of the 10,000m PBs. However, the venue changed following concerns over making the Parliament Hill Athletics Track COVID-secure. 

Highgate had previously hosted the event since 2013 and is known for incorporating ‘spectator experience […] with past editions including hundreds of fans lining the track and even joining athletes on it.’

While this may not be possible as a result of COVID, UoB has been praised for ‘stepping forward at this late stage.’

With government restrictions meaning only elite sporting competition can take place, entries for the event will be invite-only.

UoB’s new Director of Sport, Andy Allford, was delighted by the news: ‘We thank British Athletics and European Athletics for selecting us to host this event.’

‘With the University of Birmingham already to host two sporting events and the main athlete village for next year’s Commonwealth Games it is great to have been selected for another world-class event this summer.’

European Athletics’ Interim President, Dobromir Karamarinov, is excited by the ‘greater significance’ of the event as a result of it being an ‘excellent opportunity for athletes aiming to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics later this Summer,’ saying the trial factor ‘will only help to raise the profile of the event.’

UoB’s status as one of the nation’s top sporting universities has only been raised by such a prestigious event, which will likely act as a practice run for UB Sport’s involvement with the Commonwealth Games next Summer. For students and staff, this is an exciting time for sport in Birmingham.

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