Record TV coverage for Indoor Championships in Birmingham – The European Athletics Indoor Championships take place biannually and some 587 athletes from 45 countries

There will be record television coverage of this weekends European Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham, when it was confirmed that 62 countries will receive coverage of the event during the weekend from 36 European and 5 non-European broadcasters.

The news, which comes hot on the heels on the announcement that the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in December was watched by a record number of TV viewers, was welcomed by Christian Milz, Director General of European Athletics.

This is great news, and I am very happy to hear that the Championships are being shown in over 62 countries this weekend, particularly when one considers that there are only 50 countries in Europe he said. It is further proof of the appeal of the Championship format and of European Athletics in general and I am sure that the millions of TV viewers are be in for a treat from Birmingham he added.

The European Athletics Indoor Championships take place biannually and some 587 athletes from 45 countries are entered for this year’s event in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, which is now almost a complete sell-out for the entire weekend.

The next edition of the Championships will take place in Turin, Italy in March 2009.

The event is supported by SPAR, the long-standing International Partner of European Athletics along with SEIKO, EPSON and EUROVISION. SPAR International has been the Principal Partner of European Athletics since 1996; SEIKO is the Official Timing and Measurement Company for European Athletics Events since 1991; EPSON is European Athletics Technical Partner since 2001; and last year European Athletics has celebrated 25 years of partnership with EBU/EUROVISION.

Source: European Athletics