The first official kick-off meeting for the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships, which will be part of the inaugural European Sports Championships, was held in the German capital from 11-12 February.
The meeting was composed of several key stakeholders including European Athletics, the City of Berlin, the Berlin 2018 LOC, European Sports Championships Management, European Athletics Marketing, European Broadcast Union, and Eurovision Production Company.
Discussions were focused on the organisation of the European Athletics Championships held from 7-12 August 2018 in the iconic Berlin Olympic Stadium, with road races and race walking events held throughout the city.
All the different areas related to Logistics, Communications, Competition, TV Operations, Marketing, Event Presentation and the Social Programme were covered during the meeting.
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz said: “We are pleased to have brought together all the major parties that will contribute to making the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships a great event.
“This is only the start of a long road ahead but we are confident that everything is in place to offer athletics at its best in Berlin.”
Berlin 2018 CEO Frank Kowalski said: “We want to make 2018 the best and most innovative European Athletics Championships ever with an average 45,000 spectators per day.
“Our plans to achieve this have now been unveiled and we received a lot of encouragement from the different stakeholders present during the meetings. A lot of hard work is required until the start of the Championships but we are confident we will achieve our goals.”
The innovative European Sports Championships concept, running through 1-12 August, will bring together the existing championships from seven sports: Athletics, Aquatics, Cycling, Gymnastics, Gold, Rowing and Triathlon in a sustainable format.
Around 1,600 athletes will compete in Berlin as part of the European Athletics Championships while more than 3,000 athletes will head to Glasgow, Scotland, for the other six events.