London to be the host of the 2017 IAAF World Championships | 11.11.2011

London will stage the 2017 IAAF World Championships after the ruling council of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) voted to bring the biggest event in the sport back to Europe on Friday.

European Athletics offers its heartfelt congratulations to the London 2017 bid team for its successful campaign.

It will be the first time that Great Britain has ever hosted the championships, which is the third largest international sporting event in terms of athlete numbers and prestige after the Olympic Games and the football World Cup.

The 2013 edition will be hosted by the Russian capital Moscow from 10 - 18 August 2013) and will be followed by the Chinese capital Beijing staging the Championships in 2015.

The London 2017 bid team, lead by Lord Sebastian Coe and UK Athletics Chairman Ed Warner, beat its only rival Doha.

London’s 45-minute pitch, which was led by Coe in a reprise of his much-praised presentation to the International Olympic Committee in Singapore six years ago, included a video message from David Cameron and speeches from sports minister Hugh Robertson and London mayor Boris Johnson.

The Championships will use the 2012 Olympic Stadium in the east of London. “This bid has been developed by athletes and athletics, for athletes and athletics,” said Coe.

"We believe 2017 will cement the clear, unambiguous vision we offered the world in 2005 [when London was awarded the 2012 Olympics], a vision that promised a real legacy through unprecedented levels of investment in our new national stadium,” he added.

European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz, who is also a member of the IAAF Council, was among those who backed London.

“I am convinced that we have to be in London in 2017 and I am 100 percent behind UK Athletics’ efforts to bring the World Championships back to Europe,” said President Wirz at the annual European Athletics Convention in Arona, Spain, last month.