London 2012 Set For Anniversary Action
British Athletics has announced that the Olympic Stadium will host three days of athletics action from 26th to 28th July 2013, on the anniversary of the London 2012 Opening Ceremony, with a full day dedicated to Paralympic sport.
The London Anniversary Games, at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, will span three days of athletics with the Sunday dedicated to showcasing the Paralympic champions of 2012, following two days of IAAF Diamond League action on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon, featuring the return of many Olympic champions.
As the last major international athletics event before the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, many of the world’s best athletes will use the London Anniversary Games as their final pre-championship preparation, and following hot on the heels of the IPC World Championships it will give fans the chance to welcome home their Paralympic heroes from Lyon.
Vice-President of the IAAF, Seb Coe said: ‘I am delighted that the London Anniversary Games has been confirmed as three days of international athletics this July. London 2012 was an amazing year for British sport and what a way to celebrate its success by welcoming the world back to London once more to watch the biggest names in athletics.’
‘It is an important part of the London 2012 legacy that as many people as possible experience world class sport in the world class facilities at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and I’m sure the London Anniversary Games will go a long way to inspiring the next generation of track and field fans.’
Boris Johnson, Mayor of London and Chairman of the London Legacy Development Corporation commented: ‘We are already set to mark the anniversary of the tremendous London 2012 Opening Ceremony with the world’s finest athletes returning to compete in this great stadium this summer.’
‘Now this anniversary celebration is complete with top international Paralympians set to join the party giving us an extra day of world-class sporting action.’
Double Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft, who won the T34 100m and 200mtitles in London, is confident the event will be popular.
She said: ‘It’s really exciting. We know we can fill that stadium – we did it with 80,000 people in two sessions a day for 10 days.’
‘We can fill the stadium one more time and if we can do that it shows the interest is still there.’
‘That’s a real challenge for us now to see if people are still interested in what we’re doing. It’s fantastic that we’re getting the opportunity to try that out and I guess that’s where the whole world will see if the legacy has worked.’
