Birmingham to bid for the 2029 World Para Athletics Championships at Alexander Stadium

Birmingham is to bid to host the World Para Athletics Championships in 2029, with the event staged at Alexander Stadium if the city is successful, the council has decided.

The council describes the bid as a chance to build on the legacy of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, BBC News reported on 12 November. But the decision comes with a catch: it could cost up to £6 million to stage the event, and the government-appointed commissioners overseeing the council's financial recovery urged caution.

"So excited"

Paralympic sprinter Ndidikama "Didi" Okoh, who won bronze in the women's 100m T63 at both the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games and the 2025 World Para Athletics Championships, said she was "so excited" at the prospect of the championships coming to the city where she began her journey in para athletics.

Okoh moved to Birmingham about six years ago to study criminology and law and was inspired after watching para athletes compete at the 2022 Commonwealth Games. "Birmingham did a really good job of hosting the Commonwealth Games, so it's nice to see that we're going to potentially get more opportunities," she said. "It's a really good opportunity to showcase what para athletes can do."

She said the city's diverse communities made it a natural host. "On that global scale, having people [visiting] from all across the world, if people are missing their home comforts, their home foods and stuff, you'll actually find it here," she said, adding that hosting the championships would have "a social impact as well".

Conditions attached

The commissioners told councillors they should consider not bidding and assess whether the money could be better spent elsewhere. They said the decision to bid was "conditional upon securing a minimum 50 per cent contribution from external partners".

Jex Parkin, leader of the Reform UK group on the council, said: "It's an extremely prestigious and worthwhile event. But I do share the commissioners' queries regarding costs and priorities, particularly so soon after Birmingham hosted the 2022 Commonwealth Games."

Deborah Harries, the Liberal Democrat cabinet member for culture, said councillors would be "rightly focused on affordability and risk", but that the event could generate "substantial" economic benefits.

The UK's home of athletics

A council report said hosting the championships would help cement Birmingham's status as the UK's home of athletics and enhance its reputation as an inclusive destination, boosting visitor spending, supporting jobs and creating volunteering and apprenticeship opportunities.

Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr was rebuilt for the Commonwealth Games and now hosts major athletics meetings. The city is already preparing to host the Invictus Games next year and matches during Euro 2028, so a World Para Athletics Championships would add to a busy calendar of international sport.

The bid will now go forward on the condition that partners share the cost. If it succeeds, Birmingham would welcome the world's best para athletes to the stadium where many local fans first discovered the sport in 2022.