The European Athletics Championships open at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham on Monday, 10 August, and run through Sunday, 16 August, marking the first time the event has been staged in Great Britain. A home squad of 96 athletes will compete against rivals from 49 nations for 50 gold medals, with a mixed 4x100m relay appearing on the programme for the first time.
Among the British athletes to watch are defending champions Keely Hodgkinson and Dina Asher-Smith, along with Birmingham-born Matthew Hudson-Smith, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Amy Hunt, Georgia Hunter Bell and Jake Wightman. Sweden's Armand Duplantis, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou are each chasing a fourth consecutive European title, while Hodgkinson, Italy's Marcell Jacobs and Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh are aiming for a third straight crown.
Both Johnson-Thompson and Asher-Smith recently pulled out of the Commonwealth Games, as reported in Great Britain's Commonwealth Games withdrawals, alongside Hudson-Smith, meaning the Birmingham championships represent their first major outing since that decision.
Can Great Britain return to the top of the medal table?
Great Britain finished third in the medal table at the previous edition, with gold medals coming from Asher-Smith in the 100m, Hodgkinson in the 800m, the women's half marathon team and the women's 4x100m relay squad. Hosts Italy topped that table with 11 golds and 24 medals overall, ahead of France, that year's Olympic hosts, who won four golds and 16 medals in total.
According to Wikipedia's record of the 2024 championships, the Rome event was held from 7 to 12 June 2024 and also featured a mixed 4x400m relay, which added a 50th gold-medal event to that year's programme. Britain last topped the medal table at Zurich 2014, Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022, having also done so in Brussels in 1950 and Budapest in 1998, with the championships now held every two years since 2010. With home advantage in Birmingham, the British team will be looking to reclaim top spot.
How does Asher-Smith's record compare historically?
Asher-Smith has won six European golds and two silvers across four championships and could move ahead of Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic's seven golds to become the most successful athlete in the event's history. The 30-year-old could also surpass Poland's Irena Szewinska, who won 10 medals in total between 1966 and 1978, to become the most-decorated European athlete overall.
Among current athletes, Norway's Ingebrigtsen has six golds and no other medals, while the Netherlands' Femke Broeders-Bol has five golds and a bronze from only two championships. Hudson-Smith, who has a stand named after him at Alexander Stadium, has won four golds and seven medals in total; one more medal would draw him level with France's Christophe Lamaitre as the most-decorated male athlete in the championships' history, while a gold would put him alongside Roger Black and Sir Mo Farah as the British men with the most European titles.
When does Keely Hodgkinson race, and who stands in her way?
One of the most eagerly awaited contests for the home crowd is Hodgkinson's 800m showdown with Switzerland's Audrey Werro and the Netherlands' Femke Broeders-Bol. Hodgkinson, 24, skipped the Commonwealth Games but arrives in strong form after winning the London Diamond League meeting in July.
She faces stiff competition, however. Werro, 22, beat Hodgkinson in June and has run faster than the Olympic champion twice this season, closing in on the 43-year-old world record of one minute 53.28 seconds. Broeders-Bol, the world 400m hurdles champion at 26, has stepped up to the 800m and finished just behind Hodgkinson at London Stadium as she adjusts to the new event.
Hodgkinson's rise has been building for some time: Britain's campaign at the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Poland saw her lead the team's medal push after setting an indoor 800m world record, alongside contributions from Jeremiah Azu, Amy Hunt, Dina Asher-Smith and others.
The women's 800m heats take place on Tuesday morning, with semi-finals on Thursday morning and the final scheduled for 21:45 on Friday, 14 August.
How can viewers follow the action?
Every session will be shown live on either BBC One or BBC Two, as well as via the national broadcaster's on-demand streaming platform, its sports website and its mobile app. Radio 5 Live and its accompanying digital audio service will provide daily commentary from Birmingham, while the broadcaster's website and app will carry live text updates, reports, analysis, video clips and a medal table.
Coverage will also extend to the broadcaster's social media channels, including YouTube. Presenters Gabby Logan and Jeanette Kwakye will front the television coverage, with commentary from Steve Cram, Andrew Cotter, Steve Backley, Colin Jackson and Paula Radcliffe. London 2012 Olympic champions Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford, plus Hodgkinson's coach Jenny Meadows, will offer additional analysis.
What is the day-by-day schedule?
All times are British Summer Time and remain subject to late changes.
Monday, 10 August (5 golds): Max Burgin, the second-fastest man in Europe over 800m this year, seeks a place in the semi-finals. Imani Lansiquot competes in the women's 100m qualifying, while Asher-Smith and Hunt progress straight to the semi-finals. Television coverage runs from 19:00 to 20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00 to 22:00 on BBC One, with radio commentary from 21:00 to 22:00. The women's 100m final is set for 21:50, following semi-finals from 20:10, with Asher-Smith and Hunt both targeting gold. The mixed 4x400m relay final follows at 21:40, with Britain among the favourites in the first of six relay titles on offer. Ingebrigtsen returns from almost a year out with injury in the men's 5,000m final at 20:40.
Tuesday, 11 August (5 golds): Hodgkinson begins her title defence as the women's 800m qualifying rounds start at 12:05, alongside men's 100m qualifying from 11:15. Radio coverage runs from 20:25 to 22:00. The men's 100m final is scheduled for 21:45, with semi-finals from 20:32, while the women's 110m hurdles final follows at 21:30, with semi-finals from 19:55.
Wednesday, 12 August (4 golds): Hunt, Asher-Smith and Success Eduan, the three fastest European women over 200m this year, all progress directly to the semi-finals as qualifying begins. Amber Anning, Britain's 2025 world indoor champion, aims to return from injury in the 400m heats. The men's decathlon opens with the 100m, the first of 10 events spread over two days. According to the record of the men's decathlon at the 2024 championships, the 100m was contested on 10 June that year with the 1500m following on 11 June, illustrating how tightly the combined-events schedule is typically compressed. The men's 110m hurdles final is set for 21:45, with semi-finals from 19:55. Britain's Emily Newnham is one to watch in the women's 400m hurdles at 21:08, while Hudson-Smith bids for a third individual 400m title at 20:50.
Thursday, 13 August (7 golds): Hodgkinson returns for the women's 800m semi-finals at 12:10 as the decathlon continues. Radio coverage runs from 19:30 to 22:00. Hunt and Asher-Smith both target gold in the women's 200m final at 21:50, Burgin seeks a first international title in the men's 800m at 21:28, and the decathlon concludes with the 1500m at 21:10.
Friday, 14 August (6 golds): Olympic silver medallist Johnson-Thompson begins her bid for a first European heptathlon title. World silver medallist Wightman features in men's 1500m qualifying, while world record holder Duplantis starts his pursuit of a fourth successive European pole vault title. Radio coverage runs from 20:30 to 22:00. Hodgkinson bids to retain her women's 800m title at 21:45, while Karsten Warholm chases a fourth European title in the men's 400m hurdles at 20:40.
Saturday, 15 August (13 golds): The men's and women's half-marathon and marathon race walks take place through the city streets from 07:30, ahead of broadcast coverage. The women's heptathlon continues with the long jump and javelin, Hunter Bell competes in 1500m qualifying for Sunday's final, and the sprint relay teams contest their qualifying rounds. The heptathlon concludes with the 800m at 19:45.
Sunday, 16 August (10 golds): The women's and men's marathons take place through the city from 07:30 and 08:10 respectively. Radio coverage runs from 20:30 to 22:00, with the men's 3,000m steeplechase final at 20:50.
Hunter Bell's form heading into the championships has been strong: she and Molly Caudery both won their events at a recent Diamond League meeting in Rome, with Caudery taking the pole vault and Hunter Bell the 1500m.
Where can results be verified?
World Athletics maintains an official results archive for the championships, according to its dedicated competition results page, confirming the event's status within the sport's formal record-keeping.
- Championships run from Monday, 10 August to Sunday, 16 August at Alexander Stadium, Birmingham
- 96 British athletes compete against rivals from 49 nations for 50 gold medals
- A mixed 4x100m relay features for the first time; the previous edition added a mixed 4x400m relay
- Hodgkinson, Duplantis, Ingebrigtsen and Tentoglou are among athletes chasing extended title streaks
- Coverage airs across BBC One, BBC Two, Radio 5 Live and the broadcaster's digital platforms
