The European Sports Federation members of the European Championships Board have confirmed their intentions to take part in the 2022 edition of the multi-sport event.
The Board members of the European Sports Federations of athletics (European Athletics), swimming (Ligue Européenne de Natation), cycling (Union Européenne de Cyclisme), gymnastics (European Union of Gymnastics), rowing (Fédération Internationale des Sociétés d'Aviron), triathlon (European Triathlon Union) and golf (European Tour & Ladies European Tour) all committed in principle to participating in 2022 after preliminary discussions on the host venue selection process for future editions of the championships.
In 2018, the existing senior European Championships of athletics, aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon will be brought together for the first time in Glasgow and Berlin, with a new Golf Team Championships also being introduced onto the European stage.
European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen, co-chair of the European Championships Board, said: "There is already great interest from cities, regions and countries in the hosting of the 2022 European Championships, which shows the value of our innovative concept – for the sports and the bidding cities. It is obvious why all the participating sports want to carry on in 2022 as the European Championships is a sustainable event that brings together our existing championships without adding to a crowded calendar, and this is very attractive and affordable to a wide range of host cities."
Fellow co-chair Paolo Barelli, President of the Ligue Européenne de Natation (European Aquatics), said: "The inaugural edition in 2018 will deliver to the participating sports huge benefits in terms of aggregation, through a higher profile and reach through our media agreements with the European Broadcasting Union. This will ensure our long-term financial security as we are confident the championships will go from strength-to-strength through 2022 and beyond."
Aileen Campbell, Scottish Government Minister for Public Health and Sport, said: "This is a huge vote of confidence by the sports in this exciting new concept which we warmly welcome as we work to project Scotland as the perfect stage at the inaugural event in 2018."
Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "As Host City to six of the sports taking place in 2018 we are sure many other European cities will be interested in staging the 2022 European Championships due to its sustainable model, broadcast reach and potential to deliver meaningful economic, sporting and social legacy."
The seven participating sports in the European Championships met in the German capital Monday for their regular Board meeting.
The Board also received updates from 2018 hosts Berlin and Glasgow and Working Groups related to the overall timetable, brand, and ceremonies, celebrations and shared experiences. The next Board meeting will be in Rome on 27 October 2016.
Around 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin through 7-12 August 2018 as part of the European Athletics Championships, while approximately 3,025 athletes will compete in Glasgow in the other six events between 1-12 August.
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), which holds the broadcast rights on all platforms, has already confirmed coverage across the top five markets for 2018, with BBC in the United Kingdom, ARD/ZDF in Germany, France Televisions in France, RAI in Italy and TVE in Spain. These countries represent a major part of the potential television audience of 1.03 billion.
The European Championships is collectively run by the participating European Sports Federations and all decisions are made by the European Championships Board, which is jointly chaired by European Athletics and LEN. Each Federation is independently responsible for their own sport within the concept and all decisions to participate are taken in full compliance with the decision-making processes and governance rules of each Federation.
