London to host World Championships

London has been confirmed as the host city for the 2005 World Championship the International Amateur Athletic Federation announced today.

The event which will be held at the athletics stadium being built at Picket's Lock, North London, will be the largest sporting event held in the UK since the 1948 Olympics came to London.

David Moorcroft, former champion runner and now chief executive of UK athletics, was pleased about the decision "The Championships, together with the new state-of-the-art National Athletics Stadium will inspire a whole new generation of athletes."

Culture, Media and Sport Minister Chris Smith said: "This is great news for athletics in the UK. We have never hosted this event before and I am delighted that we now have the chance to set that straight."

England are also applying for the 2006 World Cup.

The decision was some what of a forgone conclusion as London was the only city to bid for the Championships. Paris' venue for the 1998 World Cup, Stade de France, was earlier named as the venue for the 2003 Championships.