Ahead of this summer’s Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships (10-16 August), around 250 children and young people recently participated in a day of free athletics and sports events at the city’s Alexander Stadium (Tuesday 9 June).
The event – delivered by London Marathon Events and London Marathon Foundation as part of their commitment to inspiring activity amongst children and young people in the region – built on the positive momentum already generated by Birmingham 2026’s impact plan ‘Beyond’, a programme created to inspire positive, lasting change across the West Midlands linked to the Championships which are coming to the UK for the first time.
100 participants took part in the ‘Athletics for All’ morning session where they had the opportunity to try out sprinting, hurdles, jumps and throws.
Delivered in partnership with the Lloyd Cowan Bursary, the children and young people were guided through the athletics activities and inspired by current and former athletes and coaches including Christine Ohuruogu MBE, Jazmin Sawyers, Aston Moore MBE, Ashia Hansen MBE and Montell Douglas. The session concluded with fun relay races.
Around 150 participants took part in the afternoon ‘Daily Mile’. In addition to completing four laps of the Alexander Stadium track, they took part in a variety of athletics activations provided by Beyond social impact partners including England Athletics, Personal Best Foundation, junior parkrun and Access Sport.
Schools were invited based on their engagement with activities and initiatives throughout this academic year.
One teacher commented: “Children have a range of fitness levels in our school. As lots of our children live in tower block flats, they don't have access to green spaces, so don't have the space to exercise. Many of our families don’t have the financial capacity to pay for sports clubs etc. either. Events like this are essential to us as they open doors and allow our children to experience what they may only see on television.”
All finishers received medals and were given information on local opportunities to continue their involvement in sport and physical activity.
The Beyond framework, which has been built to connect partners and inspire new activity in addition to highlighting existing initiatives, is shaped by three central pillars: providing community benefit through athletics and running; delivering an environmentally conscious championships; and improving accessibility and inclusion for all.
Activities aligned with Beyond include the Birmingham 2026 Miles Challenge, support for the Daily Mile in schools, diversifying junior parkruns, creating new apprenticeship and volunteering pathways, and encouraging sustainable travel for fans and participants.
The Birmingham 2026 European Athletics Championships take place from 10-16 August. Tickets are on sale now.
For more about the Beyond programme, click here.