London's year as sporting host

As 2011 draws to a close, 2012 will truly be a year of sport for the UK capital.

But it's not only the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games that will have sports fans jumping for joy. There's a host of other sporting events planned, many of which will be held at official Olympic venues from January all the way through to Games time on 27 July.

Oympic test events and qualifiers will enable the public to experience sports ranging from gymnastics to diving whilst new fixtures for London include a Grand Sumo tournament, taking place at the Royal Albert Hall from 13-17 June.

The British Swimming Championships will take place at the Olympic Park Aquatic Centre from 3-12 March and a National Lottery Olympic Park Run will test the park's capacity for large crowds on 31 March.

High profile international events returning to London during Olympic year include an NFL clash at Wembley in October and the Heineken Cup Final at Twickenham on 19 May.

Tickets for the London Prepares series of Olympic test events can be purchased from Ticketmaster.

To download a full calendar of sporting activity in London during Olympic year, click here.

London wins bid to host 2017 Athletics World Championships

London has been chosen as the host city for the 2017 World Athletics Championships.

The International Association of Athletics Federations selected London ahead of Doha at a bid presentation in Monaco by 16 votes to 10, earlier today (Friday 11 November).

It will be the first time that the World Athletics Championships are to be held in the UK and marks the first major tournament confirmed for the Olympic Stadium post London 2012.

Speaking from Monaco, The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, said: "Despite an excellent challenge from Doha, the London team put together a cracking bid which has paid off. With the 2017 championships now in the diary, next summer’s London Games is just the start of a long and active life for our magnificent stadium."

Over the last decade, London has transformed itself to become recognised globally as a leading city for major sporting events. Other successful bids for major sporting events post 2012 include the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, the 2013 ITU World Championship Series Triathlon Grand Final and the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships.

Based on the success of London 2012’s International Inspiration Project, London 2017 has revealed the international legacy programme that will now be launched following the city's successful bid to host the 2017 World Athletics Championships. 

LEAP 2017 has been designed to engage two million children in athletics across 17 developing countries over four years.

A huge congratulations to everyone involved with the successful London 2017 bid.

London's sporting legacy is put to the vote this week in Monaco

In Monaco, on 11 November, the 27-strong IAAF voting panel will decide between London and Doha as the host city for the 2017 athletics World Championships.

In October, my bosses at London & Partners hosted the evaluation committee of the world governing body for track and field, on a two-day visit to the UK capital to assess our bid to stage this prestigious event.

Whilst in town, IAAF Senior Vice-President, Bob Hersh heaped praise on London's ‘world-class’ stadium. Importantly, he also lauded the city's passion and commitment for hosting a successful World Championships.

Recognising our passion and commitment for staging major sporting events is important for London. The city takes sport seriously. It has been working hard to build a sporting legacy that goes beyond next summer’s Olympic Games and includes a £30million Sporting Legacy Fund to attract grass-roots participation into every bid secured.

London's success stories to date include securing the 2013 Triathlon World Championship Grand Final in Hyde Park and the 2015 Canoe Slalom World Championships, which was the first major event to be confirmed for an Olympic venue after the Games.

Other bids currently on the table and awaiting outcomes include a Track Cycling World Cup in 2014/15, the 2015 Hockey European Championships, the 2016 Swimming European Championships and the Table Tennis World Championships in 2017.

This year, London has hosted the Yonex BWF World Badminton Championships at Wembley Arena and one of the seven-legs of the Triathlon World Championship Series.

Individually, these two events showcased London to a far reaching global fan-base. Combined, they generated more than £5million of economic impact.

London also staged the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium in May this year. A crowd of 87,695 well behaved football fans from Spain and Manchester created a carnival atmosphere that was supplemented by a week-long Champions Festival in Hyde Park.

According to a report backed by MasterCard, the football match itself was worth around £326million, which included an economic windfall for London of €52million generated through spending in restaurants, bars and at the stadium.

London’s reward for the spectacular success of the Champions League final is to host the event again in 2013. It will be a record seventh time the match has been staged in one venue.

London will also stage the 2013 UEFA Women’s Champions League final and the XXXVII Ordinary UEFA Congress in the days leading up to the final.

The UK capital appeals to the American version of football as well. On Sunday, 23 October, at Wembley Stadium, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took on the Chicago Bears in the last of a three-season NFL International Series game agreement.

The popularity of American Football in the UK and Europe has rocketed ever since the Giants played the Dolphins in 2007. Over half a million people applied for tickets for each of the subsequent three seasons.

London sees no reason why its association with the NFL should end here and even harbours aspirations to stage a Super Bowl final one day.

Right now though, everyone is focused on this Friday's announcement where, once-again, a committee has to decide upon a host city for a major sporting event.

According to a ‘Global Major Events - 2012 & Beyond’ survey, revealed at SportAccord back in April, a World Athletics Championships was voted the second most popular sporting event to attract consumers into London. The Greatest Show on Earth was, of course, voted top.

Let’s hope, come Friday, there’s two upcoming reasons a new generation of UK athletes can become inspired.

The Giants of Badminton

Two chalk giants had a game of badminton on Primrose Hill on 13 July. Their giant shuttlecock then set off around London to promote the YONEX BWF World Badminton Championships, taking place at Wembley Arena from 8-14 August.

The 50 foot badminton players were created by specialist environmental agency Curb, using natural chalk. Drawing began at 6am and took four hours to complete.

After leaving Primrose Hill, I followed the giant shuttlecock, manoeuvred by humans, weighing over 30kgs and measuring almost 10 feet tall, over to Regent Street in London's West End.

As it travelled from Oxford Circus tube station down towards Piccadilly Circus, I took up a position on the roof of the office block opposite the Omega store to shoot video footage and capture some great shots of one of London's most iconic streets.

This vantage point is sure to feature as a prime broadcast location during London 2012.

The YONEX BWF World Badminton Championships, hosted in Wembley Arena from the 8-14th August, provides an opportunity to see the world’s top Badminton players in the same venue as the 2012 Games a year early.

All my video footage and images from the day can be seen on my dedicated Facebook group for the World Championships. The two viral videos are also embedded below.

See sold out Olympic sport one year early...

London will be warming up for the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games in August by staging the BWF World Badminton Championships and ITU World Championship Series Triathlon.

Both Championship events will form part of an exciting week of international sport, with spectators having the chance to see the Triathlon for free and Badminton for as little as £10.

The BWF World Badminton Championships will take place at Wembley Arena from 8-14 August and the ITU World Championship Series Triathlon will be in Hyde Park on 6 and 7 August.

More than 1.8 million people applied for tickets in the first-round of the 2012 Olympic ticket phase and both Badminton and the Triathlon sold out. Next month however, Londoners and visitors to the UK capital will have the opportunity to see the top athletes from each sport in action, with less than one year to go before they battle it out during London 2012.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson said: “For these two great international events to be sold out already is glorious testimony to the huge sporting enthusiasm that exists in the capital and throughout the UK.  We couldn’t send out a better message to the world's sporting federations that if you want to fill seats, hold your event in London. And I am particularly excited that our world famous Wembley arena is hosting its first ever World Badminton Championship, a perfect dry run for the 2012 Olympic Badminton events."

Held at Wembley Arena (the venue for Badminton and Rhythmic Gymnastics at the London 2012 Games), this will be the third time England has hosted the World Badminton Championships, but only the first time they have been staged in London.

The London leg of the ITU World Championship Series Triathlon will be held for the third time in Hyde Park and feature the world number 1 triathlete, GB’s Alistair Brownlee.
Access for the event, also supported by the Mayor of London and part of UK Sport’s National Lottery funded World Class Events Programme, is free to spectators throughout the weekend.

Iain Edmondson, Head of Major Events at London & Partners added: “The Badminton and the Triathlon world championship events signify key milestones for London as an ever growing sports events destination. Both events feature globally recognised and highly popular sports which have chosen London as host for their world championships. These events not only give us the invaluable opportunity to learn how we can host other major events after 2012 but also give young people in London more chances to be inspired by top class sport.”

For more information on The Yonex BWF World Badminton Championships at Wembley Arena, join my Facebook fan site or visit the official website.