European Athletics Championships 2026: Birmingham

They run from **Monday 10 August to Sunday 16 August 2026**, seven days of competition with a morning and an evening session on most days. The marathons close the championships on the final Sunday. Sources: European Athletics, BBC.

At **Alexander Stadium in Birmingham**, England. It is the first time a British city has hosted the European Athletics Championships in the event's history. The stadium was rebuilt for the 2022 Commonwealth Games, where it staged the athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies, and holds about 18,000 in permanent seating with temporary stands taking it well beyond that for major meets. The marathons and the race walks are held on Birmingham city-centre roads rather than in the stadium. Sources: European Athletics, British Athletics, ESPN.

In the **UK**, coverage is free to air on **BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer**, starting around 10:30 BST on 10 August. Across Europe, **TNT Sports and HBO Max** carry the championships, with every event streamed live. National free-to-air coverage includes **France 2 and France 3** (france.tv) in France, **ARD and ZDF** in Germany, and **Teledeporte and RTVE Play** in Spain. Sources: BBC, ESPN, France Télévisions, Sportschau, RTVE.

The headline names include **Mondo Duplantis** (Sweden, pole vault world record holder), **Keely Hodgkinson** (Great Britain, Olympic 800m champion), **Jakob Ingebrigtsen** (Norway), **Femke Bol** (Netherlands), **Dina Asher-Smith** and **Katarina Johnson-Thompson** (Great Britain), and Italy's **Nadia Battocletti** and **Mattia Furlani**. France's **Jimmy Gressier**, a double world medallist in 2025, doubles up over 5,000m and 10,000m. Sources: olympics.com, ESPN, European Athletics.

Yes. The Norwegian is on the entry list for Birmingham after **Achilles tendon surgery in January 2026**, which wiped out most of his season. He is a serial European champion over 1,500m and 5,000m, but a recovery this compressed makes his form the biggest question mark of the middle-distance programme rather than a formality. Sources: olympics.com, European Athletics.

More than **1,600 athletes from 48 nations** are entered, competing across **50 medal events**. Germany brings one of the largest squads with **116 athletes**, Spain has a record continental outdoor delegation of **94** (48 women, 46 men), and France has selected **80**. Sources: European Athletics, DLV, RFEA, FFA.

**Mon 10 Aug**: women's 100m, men's 5,000m, men's shot put, mixed 4x400m relay. **Tue 11 Aug**: men's 100m, women's 100m hurdles, men's long jump, men's hammer. **Wed 12 Aug**: men's 400m, women's 400m hurdles, men's 110m hurdles. **Thu 13 Aug**: men's 800m, women's 200m, men's discus, decathlon concludes. **Fri 14 Aug**: women's 800m, men's 200m, men's 400m hurdles, women's 10,000m, men's high jump. **Sat 15 Aug**: men's 1,500m, men's 10,000m, men's javelin, women's 400m, both sprint relays. **Sun 16 Aug**: both marathons, men's pole vault, women's long jump, women's 1,500m, the 4x400m relays. Check the official session timetable for exact start times. Sources: ESPN, European Athletics.

The **men's pole vault final is on the closing Sunday, 16 August**, one of the last medals of the championships. Duplantis has repeatedly rewritten his own world record and arrives as the overwhelming favourite; the interest is less in whether he wins than in how high he goes and whether he attempts a record. Sources: ESPN, European Athletics.

The **women's 800m final is on Friday 14 August**, with rounds earlier in the week. Hodgkinson is the Olympic champion and the reigning European champion over the distance, and she is running on home soil, which makes it one of the loudest sessions of the week. Sources: ESPN, British Athletics.

European Athletics has moved the road walking programme to **half-marathon and marathon distances**, replacing the old 20km and 35km events. Spain's **María Pérez**, a double Olympic medallist and four-time world champion, is among the leading entrants at the new half-marathon distance. Sources: European Athletics, RFEA, olympics.com.

Tickets are sold through the official Birmingham 2026 ticketing site, with prices tiered by session, evening finals sessions being the most expensive and morning sessions the cheapest. Availability changes daily during the championships, so the official site is the only reliable source for what is left. Sources: Birmingham 2026.

Yes. The marathon and race walk courses use city-centre roads, so Birmingham City Council has published a schedule of temporary closures and diversions around the route and around Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, mainly on the days of the road events. If you are driving or commuting in Birmingham between 10 and 16 August, check the council's published closure list first. Sources: Birmingham City Council, ITV News Central.

In **Rome in June 2024**, at the Stadio Olimpico. The championships are held every two years, so Birmingham 2026 is the 27th edition and the first staged in the United Kingdom. Sources: European Athletics.