Gateshead set to host first Diamond League meeting

British athletics fans will have the chance to see some of the sport’s biggest names next month with confirmation expected today that Gateshead has stepped in to replace Rabat in hosting the first Diamond League meet of the year.

The Diamond League circuit was due to begin in the Moroccan capital on May 23, but the pandemic left organisers unable to guarantee hosting the event.

With opportunities for British athletes to compete in their home country already scarce, it is understood that UK Athletics has decided to stage the meet instead.

The move means Britain will once again have two Diamond League meets in 2021, just a few months after the

Gateshead leg was originally dropped from the calendar. The London leg, the Anniversary Games, takes place on July 13 – the final major international athletics meet before the Olympic Games.

The event will be held a week after the next scheduled phase in the Government’s lockdown restrictions roadmap, meaning some fans will be allowed to attend. The roadmap suggests outdoor events will be able to welcome anything up to 4,000 spectators, although numbers for Gateshead are yet to be confirmed.

The decision by UK Athletics comes after Jo Coates, its chief executive, said in November there was a financial need for crowds to be allowed into any competition the governing body stages in 2021.

“We cannot take major losses,” she said. “UK Athletics has been losing money the past few years. I want to get to a cost-neutral position at the very worst.

“If running an event such as [the Diamond League] will put us in a poorer financial position, we will not do it. If a broadcaster desperately wants it and they will pay us money, then of course we will do it.”

Despite such small spectator numbers meaning the event will almost certainly not turn a profit, UK Athletics has opted to take the hit to ensure athletes have somewhere to safely compete in the build-up to the Olympics.