Sports: Glasgow, Berlin to co-host 2018 European event
Inaugural event in 2018 is to take place across 10 to 12 days with each European championship
LONDON (AFP) - Glasgow and Berlin are to co-host a new multi-sport competition called the European Sports Championships in 2018 that will combine continental championships in several sports, organisers announced on Thursday.
A press release estimated that around 2,900 athletes would compete in aquatics, cycling, rowing and triathlon in Glasgow, with further competitors taking part in athletics in Berlin.
The inaugural event in 2018 is to take place across 10 to 12 days with each European championship to be organised by the respective sports federation and the host city.
"This innovative new approach brings the existing European championships together in a sustainable format once every four years in order to continue building their prestige, profile and media exposure," the European Athletics Association (EAA) said in a statement
Venues for the European Sports Championships include Glasgow s Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, constructed for last year s Commonwealth Games, and Berlin s Olympic Stadium, which will host the athletics.
The event is a new venture and different from The European Games, another multi-sport competition being held for the first time this summer in Baku, Azerbaijan
Glasgow had been considering making a bid for the second edition of the European Games in 2019 but have opted instead to join forces with the German capital to launch the new event
"Last summer Scotland showed the world what a tremendous job it can do when it comes to staging major sporting events, with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup both hugely successful," said Scotland s minister for sport Jamie Hepburn in a press release.
Hansjrg Wirz, President of European Athletics, said: "We are excited to be organising our European championships in 2018 in Berlin in a coordinated way together with other leading sports in Glasgow. Our aim is to build further on the heritage, profile and awareness of our existing prestigious European Athletic Championships."
Organisers said they also hopes to include a golf competition at Gleneagles, which hosted last year s Ryder Cup.
