European Athletics Championships 2020 cancelled due to coronavirus

The 2020 European Athletics Championships was scheduled to take place from August 25 to 30 at the Charlety Stadium in Paris.

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The 2020 European Athletics Championships, which was scheduled to take place from August 25 to 30 at the Charlety Stadium in Paris, has been cancelled in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. The development came following a meeting between Paris 2020 Local Organising Committee (LOC) and Fédération Française d'Athlétisme (FFA).The LOC Executive Committee meeting took place after an earlier discussion between the relevant French authorities.

Though the European Athletics and the Paris 2020 LOC were earlier planning to go ahead with the championship as per the schedule, but the two governing bodies now decided to cancel it given the current pandemic situation across the world. "The decision to cancel was driven by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and the associated risks linked to the current situation, which are far from being under control, as well as the existing ban on mass gatherings in France.An evaluation made by the FFA Medical Commission was also taken into account when considering all the potential risks for spectators and accredited persons who would attend the championships," an official statement from the European Athletics said. Reflecting on the latest move, European Athletics Interim President, Dobromir Karamarinov said that though the governing body regret to announce the cancellation of the championship, the decision has been taken keeping in mind the safety of players, fans and other associated with the game. "Whilst we regret announcing the cancellation of our European Athletics Championships, it is worth reiterating that in these unprecedented times the health and safety of all athletics’ stakeholders including athletes, fans, officials, partners and everyone connected with the sport is paramount. We will always do what is best for the members of our athletics family and the wider public," he said. Notably, all the sporting activities across the world are either been cancelled or postponed due to the novel virus that has affected more than 27,00,000 people worldwide and claimed the lives of more than 1,90,800 persons globally.