It will be one of the biggest sporting events of 2016 and now there are less than 200 days to go until the European Athletics Championships in Amsterdam.
And new figures show the level of interest in people wanting to be involved.
So far 1,750 people have volunteered to help at these now bi-annual Championships which were first staged in Turin back in 1934.
Of those, 1,389 are from the Netherlands, 103 are from Germany, 66 from Great Britain, 32 from Italy and 18 from Switzerland but for those interested, there’s still time to register to volunteer in Amsterdam.
There is a 51-49% split over women and men, with 38% of them in the under-25 category and 21% in the 65-plus age group, meaning that the championships will involve everyone no matter what the age.
These figures are promising and the numbers have risen steadily since July.
Among the volunteers, 72% already have experience in sport while 39% are members of athletic associations, the fact the other 61% are not shows the impact the staging of the event will have on the general public and will provide an exciting new experience for those involved.
Ticket sales are growing well, too, for the championships held between 6-10 July, with some morning sessions priced at €10.
Individual session passes do not go on sale until May next year, but day and week passes are available here.
Amsterdam 2016 have sold in total over 10,000 passes to the championships including 5,000 day passes since the tickets went on sale 7 December.
Several local Dutch fans will be looking forward to seeing one of the stars of the sport, the Netherlands’ own Dafne Schippers.
A month before the Olympic Games in Rio, Schippers will be looking to defend the European 100m and perhaps 200m titles she won in Zurich 2014 in a career where she just keeps going faster.
It is now 196 days until July 5, when the opening ceremony takes places ahead of the start of the Championships the following day.
Around 1,350 athletes from 51 Member Federations will compete in this event which is being staged in the Netherlands for the first time.
While the main action takes place in the Olympic Stadium, which in its original form was used for the 1928 Games, the qualification for the discus and javelin and also the start and finish of the half marathon will have its own unique setting on the Museumplein in the centre of the city, surrounded by buildings such as the Rijksmuseum and the Van Gogh Museum.
For more information visitwww.amsterdam2016.org.
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