City backs Para Athletics Worlds bid despite £6m warning
Didi Okoh won bronze at the 2024 Paralympics, and now hopes the World Para Athletics Championships will come to her home city [Press Association] Birmingham will bid to host the World Para Athletics Championships in 2029, despite warnings it could cost up to £6m to stage the event.
Key points
- More on this story European Athletics Championships: what you need to know Region's para-athletes ready for Commonwealth Games Related internet links Birmingham City Council.
- She added that the city already had a large para sport community and said hosting the championships would have "a social impact as well".
- Okoh has lived in Birmingham for six years [Didi Okoh] A council report said hosting the championships would help cement Birmingham's status as the UK's home of athletics and enhance its reputation as an inclusive destination.
Okoh, who has lymphoedema, a condition which causes swelling, won bronze in the women's 100m T63 at both the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships.
Additional details
- The championships would be held at Alexander Stadium if the bid is successful, with the council describing it as an opportunity to build on the legacy of the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
- "It's a really good opportunity to showcase what para athletes can do." Okoh said Birmingham's diverse communities helped make it a natural venue for an international event.
- She moved to Birmingham about six years ago to study criminology and law at university and was inspired after watching para athletes compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
- The commissioners said the decision to bid was "conditional upon securing a minimum 50 per cent contribution from external partners".
- Jex Parkin, Leader of the Reform UK Group on Birmingham City Council, said: "It's an extremely prestigious and worthwhile event.
How this summary was made: extractive summary — built from the sources' own reporting. It is drawn only from the reporting of the sources listed below — read the originals for full detail. How we summarize →
Advertisement
Every article behind this summary — 1 article from 1 outlet
Get stories like this in your inbox.
Subscribe — it's freeOne free email at 6am — your topics, deduplicated, five minutes. No account, no paywall.