The 2026 European Athletics Championships brings together the continent's finest athletes for seven days of world-class competition in Birmingham from 10-16 August.
It will be the 27th edition of the championships and a landmark moment for British athletics, with the United Kingdom staging the outdoor European Athletics Championships for the first time.
Some of the biggest names in global athletics will descend on Birmingham's Alexander Stadium, with European titles at stake across the full spectrum of track and field events as well as the combined events and road disciplines.
A rich athletics history
First held in Turin in 1934, the European Athletics Championships is the second-oldest major international athletics competition in history, behind only the Olympic Games. It is also the longest-running continental championships in the sport.
For generations, it has produced some of the defining performances and rivalries in European athletics, and Birmingham 2026 will write a new chapter in that history.
The championships arrive two years after a memorable edition in Rome, where the host nation Italy topped the medal table with 24 medals, including 11 gold, and a host of other established stars enhanced their reputations.
Across seven days, expect world-class sprinting, fiercely contested middle-distance races, tactical endurance events and some of the finest jumpers, throwers and combined-event athletes on the planet.
The disciplines
Birmingham 2026 features the traditional programme of a major senior track and field championship, with some notable new events.
On the track, athletes will contest the 100m, 200m, 400m, 800m, 1500m, 5000m and 10,000m, along with the 110m/100m hurdles, 400m hurdles and 3000m steeplechase.
There will also be men's and women's 4x100m and 4x400m relays, while the mixed 4x400m relay returns for the second time after its inaugural running at Roma 2024. For the first time ever, the mixed 4x100m will appear at a European Athletics Championships.
The field programme comprises the high jump, pole vault, long jump and triple jump alongside the shot put, discus, hammer and javelin.
The decathlon and heptathlon will once again provide two of the championships' great tests of all-round ability.
In road running, the marathon returns after the half marathon of Roma 2024, following the model of the shorter distance taking place in Olympic years.
Finally, the race walks will feature two new distances. Athletes will compete over half marathon and marathon distances, replacing the 20km and 35km events of previous championships.
The road races will take place in the city outside the main stadium.
A historic venue
Few cities in Britain have stronger athletics credentials than Birmingham.
At the heart of the 2026 championships is Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, the long-time home of Birchfield Harriers and one of the country's most important athletics venues.
The stadium has been a focal point for regional, national and international athletics since the current venue opened in the 1970s and underwent a £72 million transformation ahead of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Its history, however, stretches much further back. Birchfield Harriers' original Alexander Stadium was completed in Perry Barr in 1927, and it was there that Diane Leather made athletics history in 1954 by becoming the first woman to run a mile in under five minutes.
The modern Alexander Stadium has subsequently staged generations of Britain's leading athletes and an extraordinary number of major meetings.
It has been a regular home of the British Athletics Championships and Olympic, World and European Championship trials, meaning countless British stars have effectively begun their journeys to major international championships in Birmingham.
The stadium has also staged several major European events in the past, including the 1987 European Athletics U20 Championships and the 1994 European Cup.
For much of the modern era, Alexander Stadium was synonymous with Britain's premier international one-day meeting. It regularly staged the Birmingham Grand Prix and Diamond League, bringing Olympic and world champions from across the globe to Perry Barr.
The annual meeting was staged at Alexander Stadium between 2011 and 2019 before returning to the newly redeveloped venue in May 2022.
That 2022 Birmingham Diamond League provided the first major international test of the transformed stadium, with Olympic champions and global stars competing just weeks before the Commonwealth Games.
Then came the biggest sporting event in the venue's history to date.
The Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games transformed Alexander Stadium into the centrepiece of the Games. As well as staging the opening and closing ceremonies, it hosted the full athletics and para athletics programme.
The competition produced a succession of memorable performances.
Eilish McColgan brought the stadium to its feet with her victory in the 10,000m, while Katarina Johnson-Thompson won the heptathlon and a high-quality women's 100m was won by Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah ahead of future Olympic champion Julien Alfred.
Beyond the Commonwealth Games, British Championships and Diamond League, the stadium has also hosted the English Schools' Athletics Championships and numerous national age-group championships, club competitions and international matches, reinforcing its status as one of the spiritual homes of British track and field.
And Birmingham's major athletics history extends beyond Alexander Stadium.
The city's indoor arena has staged the 2003 World Athletics Indoor Championships, the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships and the 2018 World Athletics Indoor Championships, as well as numerous editions of Britain's leading international indoor Grand Prix and the British Indoor Championships.
That means Birmingham 2026 follows more than three decades of major international athletics in the city.
But this will be different.
For all Birmingham's athletics history, neither the city nor anywhere else in the United Kingdom has previously staged the outdoor European Athletics Championships.
When competition begins on 10 August, Alexander Stadium will therefore add another significant chapter to an already remarkable athletics story.
Athletes to watch
Keely Hodgkinson (Great Britain) – women's 800m
One of the outstanding middle-distance runners of her generation and a proven championship performer. Hodgkinson won the European 800m title in Munich in 2022 and Rome in 2024 and will be one of the biggest home attractions in Birmingham.
Mondo Duplantis (Sweden) – men's pole vault
One of the biggest stars in world athletics. The multiple global champion and world record-holder has transformed the standards of men's pole vaulting and has become one of the sport's must-watch performers. Every Duplantis competition carries the possibility of something historic.
Femke Broeders-Bol (Netherlands) – women's 800m, 4x400m
The Dutch superstar has switched events from the 400m hurdles to the 800m and is already the third-fastest in the world at her new event.
Her clash with Hodgkinson and Swiss world leader Audrey Werro could be the race of the championships. She may also return to one-lap running with another signature final leg in the 4x400m.
Yaroslava Mahuchikh (Ukraine) – women's high jump
Olympic champion, defending champion and world record-holder, Mahuchikh is one of the greats of the modern generation of European athletes.
Dina Asher-Smith (Great Britain) – women's 100m, 200m, 4x100m
A multiple European champion and one of Britain's most decorated sprinters. Asher-Smith has been at the forefront of European sprinting for more than a decade. She could become the most decorated athlete in European Athletics Championships history. She currently has eight medals, with the record standing at 10.
Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Great Britain) – women's heptathlon
Birmingham holds special memories for Johnson-Thompson. She won the Commonwealth heptathlon title at Alexander Stadium in 2022 and a return to the venue for another major championship would provide one of the great storylines of the week.
Matthew Hudson-Smith (Great Britain) – men's 400m
A Birmingham athlete with a particularly strong connection to these championships. An Olympic silver medallist, European record-holder and former champion, Hudson-Smith has a temporary stand named after him at Birmingham 2026 and will be highly motivated to win at his home track.
Malaika Mihambo (Germany) – women's long jump
A serial major championship medallist and one of the most accomplished long jumpers of the modern era. Mihambo's consistency at Olympic, World and European level has made her one of Germany's leading athletics stars.
Jakob Ingebrigtsen (Norway) – men's 5000m
A true star of the sport with a flair for drama. He has not raced at all this year due to an Achilles injury but is making his racing comeback in the 5000m final on the opening night. He has won three successive 1500m/5000m doubles at the European Athletics Championships. Can he add a seventh gold?
Nadia Battocletti (Italy) – women's 5000m
European champion on the track, road and cross country, Battocletti's big breakthrough came when she won the 5000m/10,000m double at Roma 2024. Can she run it back a second time in Birmingham?
How to watch
Birmingham 2026 will be streamed live on the European Athletics website* courtesy of Eurovision Sport, and there will be additional streams providing uninterrupted worldwide coverage of the field events on the Eurovision Sport platform.
*Geoblocking restrictions apply.
The live stream will be accompanied by expert English-language commentary provided by Hannah England, Tim Hutchings, Phil Minshull and Alex Seftel.
There will also be French commentary on the Eurovision Sport platform, with GenAI translations available for selected field finals in Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Portuguese, Serbian, Swedish, Japanese, Hindi and Mandarin.
In addition, the championships will be televised in 35 countries across 40 national broadcasters, with around 2000 hours of live coverage. In the UK, the championships will be shown across the BBC's television and digital platforms.
European Athletics will also provide comprehensive coverage throughout the championships, including live results, reports, interviews and behind-the-scenes content on all social media platforms, including daily highlights on YouTube.