UK Athletics gets £150,000 for Diamond League event

London Stadium is the home of West Ham and will host a Diamond League meeting on 23 July

UK Sport has awarded UK Athletics (UKA) up to £150,000 to help stage July's Diamond League meeting at London Stadium.

The meeting, to be staged on 23 July, is expected to lose money, and the funding will help UK Athletics cover some of those losses.

"We're grateful for this award," Jack Buckner, chief executive of UK Athletics, said.

UK Athletics approached UK Sport for help with its flagship event amid financial difficulties.

In December, UKA revealed it made an annual loss of £1.8m - 10 years after the sport took centre stage at the London 2012 Olympics.

Savings had fallen from £2.2m to £430,000.

The award is also part of UK Sport's push to secure the long-term future of athletics events in the UK.

It follows on from its investment of £1.45m in the 2024 World Indoor Athletics Championships in Glasgow, and £3m in the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.

"It's great that UK Sport are supporting this summer's Diamond League at the Olympic stadium with the award announced today," Buckner added.

"As well as continuing the support they have given to major athletics events over many years, it is recognition that it forms a key part of the athlete journey - hosting Diamond League athletics in the UK gives the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team the best possible build-up and support towards major championship success."

UKA hopes to sell more than 40,000 tickets for the meeting, which will be the first to take place at London Stadium since 2019.

As well as the impact of Covid on ticket sales, UKA's broadcast and commercial revenues have declined steeply in recent years, with the organisation losing its principal event sponsor Muller.

Sally Munday, chief executive of UK Sport, said: "We want the UK to remain on the Diamond League calendar and for the event to become financially sustainable as quickly as possible.

"We are looking forward to working collaboratively with our colleagues at UK Athletics in the build up to the event and beyond to try to ensure this happens."