In the midst of the medal mania and world-class elite sport, it’s easy to think only about professional sporting moments. But throughout Birmingham 2026, there was also a simultaneous grassroots-level focus on activity and engaging new audiences in sport.
Before, during and after the Championships, local impact partners were finding ways to bring diverse communities along on the journey and excite children, young people and everyone living locally to throw themselves into the mix and jump at the chance to get up and running with a new sport.
While you can read about some of the incredible work going on to inspire young people and local residents to stay active before the Championship week on our impact pages here, you can read about some of the activations that did the same during event week below.
Getting the next generation moving inside and outside the track
While Team GB & NI were topping the medal table inside the track, 100s of young people were giving it a go themselves in the spectator zone.
Birmingham 2026 welcomed more than 43,000 young people to the stadium to watch world-class athletics, with more than 2,000 children and young people from areas with multiple indicators of deprivation having been gifted free tickets to enjoy the Championships.
And whilst they could watch history unfold from their seats, they were also given a chance to try out athletics themselves in the spectator zone where a range of Birmingham 2026 impact partners set up free give-it-a-go activities to enable kids to put their inspiration into practice right there in the same grounds as the elites.
Impact partners including England Athletics, Funetics, parkrun, The Daily Mile, Access Sport and Personal Best Foundation had a presence and welcomed young people to try out different activities and learn more about opportunities in the area.
The city-centre likewise showcased the incredible opportunities for young people to get involved with across the region at the Champions Square fan zone. Champions Square had a stage with a cultural programme of entertainment, a big screen for free viewing of the athletics from Thursday-Sunday, and stalls from local impact partners and organisations.
The results were that, during Championship week, more than 2,000 young people made use of the give-it-a-go activities in the stadium and at the Champions Square fan zone in the city centre.
Personal Best Foundation, which recently launched six new community activity hubs in Birmingham, also invited young people from their hubs to watch the opening session of the athletics. Their young people were greeted by Montelle Douglas, retired Olympic sprinter and bobsleigh athlete now known as Fire from Gladiators. Montelle and the kids took part in the give-it-a-go activities before making their way inside to watch the athletics together. Following the morning, Personal Best Foundation also announced that Montelle had joined them as their newest Ambassador.
Chris Moss, impact lead for Birmingham 2026, said: “Our impact partners went above and beyond, offering a fantastic programme of activities designed to inspire, entertain and encourage participation for our young spectators. Seeing kids step out of the stadium, eyes alight with excitement from all the sport they’d just watched, and throwing themselves into trying out the give-it-a-go activities was really special. I can’t wait for that moment in ten year’s time when our newest athletics star tells everyone they got into athletics after trying it out at Birmingham 2026!”
Champions Square – bringing athletics to the Brummies and the Birmingham spirit to athletics fans
The city centre opened its arms for all things Athletics from Thursday 13 to Sunday 16 August with the Champions Square fan zone in Centenary Square.
With a large screen so anyone who couldn’t get down to the stadium could sit and watch the evening sessions of athletics, almost 40,000 people came through the area across its four days of operation.
Councillor Raheem Humprheys, Deputy Cabinet Member for Culture, Birmingham City Council, said: “It was brilliant to see so many Brummies and visitors from across Europe getting involved and enjoying all the athletics action from Alexander Stadium while soaking up the atmosphere in Champions Square, which was brimming with energy.
“It was great to have a free area where anyone who was unable to be at the stadium could still get involved and enjoy the sport – as well as the array of activities and entertainment – in the fan zone.
“The incredible cultural programme which supported the Championship really showed off the best of Birmingham. As well as the partner organisations who were there to promote ways of getting involved with their own initiatives.”
The cultural programme featured over 160 performers with highlights including silent discos, jump for joy workshops, musical performances, MCing from Smash Bengali, and sign language interpreters throughout, with 98% of performers coming from the West Midlands.
The Unity Challenge events also invited participants to Champions Square both as the central site for the information point and for the Champions Unity Party following the finish of the 5K and 1K events.
Both events sought to give everyone the chance for their own medal moment during the Championships, making use of the closed roads for the elite marathon to enable everyone inspired by the week’s sport their own opportunity to cross under the same finish line as the European Champions and celebrate their own success. To support children and young people to take part, the 1K was free for those aged 12 and under.
The Unity Challenge also opened its arms to welcome Sanctuary Runners Birmingham, a solidarity-through-movement initiative which launched its first West Midlands-based group on Saturday 16 August at the Unity Challenge. Sanctuary Runners promote building relationships with the local community through activity, and group members took part in both the 5K and 1K in their signature teal tops and joined in the Unity Challenge Party at Champions Square after crossing the finish line.
The Square was completed by the presence of Birmingham City University where their students were also volunteering, Sport Birmingham who were promoting local activities through their activity booklet, and NHS Blood Donation Service where visitors could find out their blood type and book in to donate blood.
Birmingham City Council were also present at Champions Square, launching the 69 Wards Local Explorer Routes. The project is a collection of 10 leaflets and online maps showing cycle- and walking-friendly routes across Birmingham to encourage sustainable transport behaviour. The routes highlight existing cycle infrastructure, green spaces, canals and quiet streets, as well as heritage sites, hidden gems and other cool places to visit, enabling people to access their local area by bike and foot, or if they wish, to explore a bit further.
Keeping green in the conversation
Alongside wanting to get everyone up and moving, Birmingham 2026 also pledged to be an environmentally conscious Championship.
One way sustainability was platformed was through ensuring activation spaces also platformed the environment. In the stadium, the fan zone included Act on Energy, The Wildlife Trust (Birmingham), and Trash Free Trails, and free kit recycling facilities.
The VIP guests in the hospitality suite of the stadium were also treated to a sustainability activation from Thursday-Saturday, where European Athletics took over the space to highlight their Sustainability Programme and all the initiatives rolled out across Birmingham 2026.
For more about the Beyond programme, click here.