Creating a Crown Jewel

by Michael Weadock, Dec 2024

There’s plenty of interest in Michael Johnson’s new Grand Slam Track competition with plenty of big names signing up and huge amounts of prize money on offer. But, it won’t be staged in London.

This is after the Chief Executive of UK Athletics Jack Buckner rejected the opportunity to be one of the hosts. Usually I would be totally in favour of venues in this country biding to stage big events which is why I have been a big supporter of the new model for the Commonwealth Games which Glasgow has unveiled.

But, on this occasion, I’m completely with Jack Buckner and UK Athletics. Firstly, the organisation needs to learn to walk again before it can run. It has been a challenging time and a lot of work has had to go into re-structuring and re-financing. Hear about how UK Athletics has also set up a joint venture company with London Marathon Events and The Great Run Company here:

Secondly, UK Athletics already has a major annual event and I think the focus needs to be on making the London Diamond League as good as it possibly can be – a crown jewel of the British sporting calendar. The London Diamond League needs to be track and field’s Cup Final, Derby Day or Boat Race. The Michael Johnson initiative would involve staging three days of athletics at the London stadium with all the associated costs and need to sell tickets. It seems to me that to take on this event with losses from previous events still fresh in the memory would be a gamble on the future of UK Athletics just when it seems to be getting its house in order.

I think the strategy needs to be to attract the biggest domestic names – Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Josh Kerr and Matthew Hudson-Smith - along with a selection of global names to come to London and stage the best possible day of athletics available. This needs to be packaged up for broadcasters and staged in a way to keep the spectators in the stadium engaged – and on a date when it is not competing against an event like Wimbledon, The Open or British Grand Prix.

The men’s 1500m Olympic Champion Cole Hocker told me in Paris after he on his gold medal how he loves to come to Europe to compete and US track and field was a long way behind. Many of the sport’s biggest stars talk about the crowds and atmosphere in the UK being the best in the world.

So, let’s make the London Diamond League a crown jewel of British sport whilst focusing on delivering the 2026 European Championships in Birmingham which the UK is already committed to staging and then a possible World Championships in 2029 where we understand London is amongst the front runners to host again.

I can’t wait to watch the Grand Slam Track events. I just think it’s right that it’s not held in the UK right now.