The 2028 and 2030 editions of the European Athletics U18 Championships have been awarded to Tallinn, Estonia and Karlstad, Sweden respectively.
The decision was made on the second day of the 179th European Athletics Council meeting which took place in Batumi, Georgia on Thursday (23) morning.
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov said: “We received two very strong and credible bids for the 2028 European Athletics U18 Championships and we want to thank both Tallinn and Karlstad for the professionalism which was clearly demonstrated in their respective presentations.
“Naturally, we are extremely pleased to be able to award Tallinn and Karlstad the 2028 and 2030 editions of the European Athletics U18 Championships. Tallinn has an impeccable record of hosting major events and will have the historic distinction of becoming the first city to have hosted a European Athletics U23, U20 and U18 Championships.
“The last time we were in Tallinn was in 2021 when the city hosted both the European Athletics U20 and U23 Championships on back-to-back weeks in extremely challenging circumstances caused by the pandemic.
“By contrast, Karlstad will be staging its first major European Athletics age-group event in 2030. However, Karlstad has hosted numerous domestic as well as international meetings and is a long-time stop on the World Athletics Continental Tour so we are absolutely confident the 2030 European Athletics U18 Championships will be organised to the very highest level."
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz said: “We were very impressed by the strength and detail of both bids for the European Athletics U18 Championships. It is certainly a positive sign for the sport that our age-group championships are attracting a high level of interest from our Member Federations.
“I would like to thank both the Swedish Athletics Federation and the Estonian Athletic Association for their continued support and enthusiasm for hosting major European Athletics events.”
The 2028 European Athletics U18 Championships will be the fifth major age-group event to be held in Tallinn since 2011. The event will be held in a newly renovated Kadriorg Stadium in the Estonian capital.
Estonian Athletic Association President Madis Kallas said: "We are very thankful for the decision of European Athletics and we are proud to open the Kadriorg Stadium after the renovation with the European Athletics U18 Championships.”
Sweden has been another prolific and reliable host of European Athletics events in recent times, including the 2015 European Athletics U20 Championships in Eskilstuna and the 2019 European Athletics U23 and U20 Championships in Gavle and Boras respectively.
Swedish Athletics Federation President Johan Storåkers said: “Hosting international championships is always an inspiration for many people. This means so much to Swedish Athletics. We have a long-term commitment and ambition to regularly organise major international championships. It inspires our entire movement, and the impact goes far beyond the event itself.”
The next edition of the European Athletics U18 Championships will be held in Rieti, Italy from 16-19 July 2026.
The 2026 European 10,000m Cup was also awarded to La Spezia in northwest Italy by the European Athletics Executive Board on Tuesday (21) and will take place on 23 May.
This will be the fourth time Italy has hosted the European 10,000m Cup - an event which was added to the calendar in 1997 under its initial alias of the European 10000 Metres Challenge - after previous editions in Chia (2015), Ferrara (2007) and Camaiore (2002).
The 2027 European Athletics Convention was also awarded to the Latvian capital of Riga.