European Athletics has awarded the 2013 European Team Championships to the English city of Gateshead.
The European Athletics Council made the decision Monday afternoon after UK Athletics and the City of Gateshead presented their candidacy to host the 4th edition of the Super League.
Gateshead will host European Athletics' flagship team event for the first time after hosting its predecessor, the SPAR European Cup, in 1989 and 2000.
European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz said, 'We are very pleased to confirm that Gateshead will be the hosts of the European Team Championships Super League in 2013. Athletics has a huge following in Great Britain and we have been assured today that we can look forward to an excellent event.'
UKA Chief Executive Niels de Vos said, “Gateshead 2013 will reinforce the European Team Championships as one of the biggest athletics events in the world. It will be the first major athletics event in Great Britain after the 2012 London Olympics and I am sure the event will develop, promote and foster athletics in Europe, and further raise the profile of the sport on the continent.”
Simon Morton, Head of Major Events at UK Sport, said, “It is fantastic that we are able to confirm the 2013 European Team Championships as one of the major events the UK is set to host beyond 2012. In securing this event alongside the 2015 Canoe Slalom and Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, we have made a great start towards using the catalyst of the London 2012 Games to position the UK as a world leading host nation. The bid we presented with UKA and Gateshead was comprehensive and we look forward to continuing our partnership to deliver this exciting event in 2013, which will help maintain the momentum for hosting world class sport on British soil following London 2012.”
Gateshead Council Cabinet Member, Councillor Linda Green said, “It’s another coup for Gateshead. We’re delighted to host, after two versions of the SPAR European Cup, the 2013 European Team Championships. We look forward to welcoming European Athletics back to a newly developed stadium that we aim to fill with athletics fans, who will have the London Olympics fresh in their memories.”
Braunschweig (Germany), Bydgoszcz (Poland), Gateshead and Ostrava (Czech Republic), made their final presentations to the European Athletics Council in Frankfurt during its 129th meeting on Monday – the first time four cities had made it to the final stage of the bidding process for a European Athletics event.The European Team Championships has gone from strength to strength since it began in 2009, introducing a number of groundbreaking initiatives including a revamp of traditional track and field regulations, men and women competing as one team, promotion and relegation battles among the four leagues, and a European 'league table.'
'With the European Team Championships we are leading the way in adapting and developing our sport so it maintains its appeal in the eyes of the spectators, TV viewers, media and athletes of today and tomorrow,” said European Athletics Director General Christian Milz. “We have been assured today that UKA and Gateshead will work with us to produce an excellent event.”