Where to Watch The European Athletics Championships 2026
From 10 to 16 August 2026, Europe's best track and field athletes descend on Birmingham for the 27th European Athletics Championships , the first time a British city has staged the event. Held at the newly redeveloped Alexander Stadium, the Championships bring together more than 1,500 athletes from over 50 nations competing for 144 medals.
Birmingham 2026 also introduces "One-Day-Deciders" in several events, meaning heats and finals can unfold on the same day, so a morning 100m round can lead straight into that evening's final.
- Dates: Monday 10 to Sunday 16 August 2026
- Venue: Alexander Stadium, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Teams: over 50 European nations and 1,500+ athletes, each federation fielding men's and women's squads
- Watch: live and free on Eurovision Sport, subject to broadcast restrictions in your territory
European Athletics Championships Schedule
Alexander Stadium hosts 13 sessions across the seven days, split between morning and evening slots, with race walks and the marathon taking place on Birmingham's streets and finishing in Victoria Square, rather than in the stadium.
All times below are local UK time (British Summer Time, BST) and are subject to change.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| Monday 10th August | 19:03 – Women's shot put final |
| 20:33 – Men's shot put final | |
| 20:40 – Men's 5000m final | |
| 21:40 – Mixed 4x400m Relay final | |
| 21:50 – Women's 100m final | |
| Tuesday 11th August | 19:10 – Men's Hammer Throw final |
| 19:25 - Women's 5000m final | |
| 20:16 – Men's Long Jump Final | |
| 21:30 – 100m Hurdles women's final | |
| 21:47 – Men's 100m Final | |
| Wednesday 12th August | 19:45 – Women's Hammer Throw Final |
| 20:50 – 400m Men's Final | |
| 21:08 – Women's 400m Hurdles Final | |
| 21:47 – Men's 110m Hurdles Final | |
| Thursday 13th August | 19:40 – Women's Triple Jump Final |
| 19:50 – Women's Pole Vault Final | |
| 20:29 – Women's 3000m Steeplechase final | |
| 20:45 – Men's Discus Throw Final | |
| 21:10 – Men's 1500m Decathlon | |
| 21:28 – Men's 800m Final | |
| 21:50 – Women's 200m Final | |
| Friday 14th August | 19:45 – Women's 10,000m Final |
| 20:00 – Men's High Jump Final | |
| 20:30 – Women's Discus Throw Final | |
| 20:40 – Men's 400m Hurdles Final | |
| 21:25 – Men's 200m Final | |
| 21:46 – Women's 800m Final | |
| Saturday 15th August | 07:30 – Men's Half Marathon Race Walk Final |
| 07:30 – Women's Half Marathon Race Walk Final | |
| 07:30 – Men's Marathon Race Walk Final | |
| 07:30 – Women's Marathon Race Walk Final | |
| 19:45 – Women's 800m Heptathlon Final | |
| 20:01 – Men's Javelin Throw Final | |
| 20:07 – Women's High Jump Final | |
| 20:10 – Women's 400m Final | |
| 20:17 – Men's Triple Jump Final | |
| 20:25 – Men's 10,000m Final | |
| 21:07 - Men's 1500m Final | |
| 21:33 – Men's 4x100m Relay Final | |
| 21:48 – Women's 4x100m Relay Final | |
| Sunday 16th August | 07:30 – Women's Marathon Final |
| 08:10 – Men's Marathon Final | |
| 19:30 – Men's Pole Vault Final | |
| 19:55 – Women's Javelin Throw Final | |
| 20:05 – Women's Long Jump Final | |
| 20:35 – Mixed 4x100m Relay Final | |
| 20:50 - Men's 3000m Steeplechase Final | |
| 21:13 – Women's 1500m Final | |
| 21:33 – Women's 4x400m Relay Final | |
| 21:48 – Men's 4x400m Relay Final |
What to Expect From The European Athletics Championships 2026
The European Athletics Championships in Birmingham 2026 is a standalone athletics event, following the same format as Rome 2024, rather than being folded into the wider multi-sport European Championships (as it was in Berlin, and Glasgow in 2018 and Munich 2022). That distinction matters: a standalone edition gives athletics its own week in the spotlight, rather than sharing billing with cycling, gymnastics and the triathlon. In the broader athletics calendar, it also sits opposite a fallow year for global championships, the next World Athletics Championships is in Beijing in September 2027.
Historically, Great Britain, Italy, France, Germany, and Poland feature at the top of the medal table, with host-nation advantage often producing a bump in medals (as Germany showed in Munich and Italy showed in Rome). Names likely to headline in Birmingham include Sweden's world record pole vaulter Armand "Mondo" Duplantis, Great Britain's Keely Hodgkinson in the 800m, Switzerland's Ditaji Kambundji in the 100m hurdles, and Germany's Malaika Mihambo in the long jump, alongside a strong home crowd cheering on the British team on their own soil.
European Athletics Championships at the Alexander Stadium Birmingham
The action is centred on Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, just north of Birmingham city centre, an iconic venue at the heart of British athletics.
Originally opened in 1927, it is the official home and headquarters of UK Athletics, and has hosted the British Grand Prix and World Athletics Diamond League tour.
The stadium underwent a £72 million redevelopment ahead of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, which it hosted (including the opening and closing ceremonies), and now offers four stands seating around 18,000, expandable to 40,000 for major events like Birmingham 2026, making it the largest purpose-built athletics facility in the UK.
Outside the stadium, the road events run on free-to-watch city-centre courses: the marathon covers eight laps of a five-kilometre circuit starting and finishing in Victoria Square, while the race walks take place on a one-kilometre loop starting on Colmore Row and finishing in Victoria Square, right in the heart of Birmingham.
Looking Back At The European Athletics Championships 2024 in Rome
The last edition of the European Athletics Championships was held from 7 to 12 June 2024 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, Italy. Host nation Italy topped the medal table with 24 medals in total (11 gold, 9 silver, 4 bronze), ahead of France in second with 16 medals and Great Britain & Northern Ireland in third with 13.
The Championships delivered several standout moments in front of passionate home crowds:
- Marcell Jacobs (ITA) secured men's 100m gold before helping Italy win the men's 4x100m relay on the final night.
- Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen completed a third consecutive 1500m/5000m double, taking his tally to six European Championship titles.
- Croatia's Sandra Elkasevic won the discus to become the first athlete in the European Championships' history to claim seven individual gold medals.
- Armand 'Mondo' Duplantis also thrilled the crowd with a new European Championship pole vault record.
Catch Up On More Action And Watch Athletics For Free On Eurovision Sport
Relive the action of the 2024 European Athletics championship here