News04 Dec 2004


Berlin to host 2009 World Championships

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Members of the Berlin 2009 bid delegation applaud the announcement that their city has won the right to host the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics (© Hannu Jukola)

The delegation representing the city of Berlin on Saturday successfully won its bid to host the 2009 IAAF World Championships in Athletics, ahead of strong challenges from Split and Valencia.

Its delegation in a slick 30 minute presentation - for the first time ever the IAAF allowed the media behind previously closed doors to watch - played on the strength of its recently reconstructed Olympic Stadium, as well as on the strong support of the German authorities and the business community. The bid delegation included the German Minister of the Interior Otto Schily and well as the Governing Mayor of Berlin, Klaus Wowereit.

Refurbished at a cost of over 240 million euros, the new Berlin Olympic Stadium has a distinctive blue track and, once the venue of the 1936 Olympic Games, is now a state-of-the-art facility, which includes excellent onsite warm-up areas for the athletes and impressive hospitality areas.

With a budget of 49.8 million euros, the Berlin organising committee will also pay full travel and accommodation for all athletes participating in the Championships. The most recent edition, held last year in Paris, saw 198 of the IAAF's 211 Member Federations taking part.

In addition the excellent training and medical facilities within the Berlin area will be offered to countries which wish to use them, also free of charge prior to the Championships taking place.

"Many of us will remember the great atmosphere we had in Stuttgart," said Dr Clemens Prokop, President of the German Athletics Federation (DLV), recalling it hosted one of the greatest-ever World Championships 11 years ago.

Speaking at the press conference following the decision, IAAF President Lamine Diack said:

"This was a very decisive victory by Berlin and demonstrates that the Council was convinced that we are taking our most important competition to the right place. When Berlin lost in their effort to bid for the 2005 edition of these championships, I was delighted to see that they immediately vowed to come back, and they really deserved to win this time. Berlin is a fantastic capital city, with a tremendous vitality and where you can see a real mix of cultures. When I was a young long jumper I idolised Jesse Owens and for me, Jesse Owens was Berlin, the city where he wrote history at the 1936 Olympics. For this reason, I've always dreamed of being able to help bring a big athletics event back to Berlin."

Otto Schily, speaking on behalf of the Berlin delegation said:

 "We all feel very honoured to have been offered the responsibility to host this great event. Berlin is a wonderful city that is developing at a tremendous rate, and this decision means that we can now prepare to welcome the world's best athletes to a fascinating place. I always say that if you get bored in Berlin, then it's your own fault! I am also pleased that this decision shows again why you should always follow the motto: 'if at first you don't succeed, try, try again!"

Africa's greatest-ever sprinter Frank Fredericks, flew into Helsinki from Namibia to lend positive support for the Berlin bid as did another legendary athlete, World and Olympic champion Heike Dreschler.

Fredericks, who like Drechsler, retired from competition in 2004, said:

"Berlin is like a second home to me. It's where I met my wife and got married. I'm convinced Berlin will host an outstanding Championships because they are determined to put the athletes first, and making them the stars of the show. The fact that all the athletes can be accommodated in a single hotel is fantastic because it will be a real Athletes' Village. I also believe that having this Championships in their capital will give all young German athletes a tremendous motivation for the next few years. It's a shame that I have just retired because I would have loved to compete in Berlin in 2009!"

The vote, taking in the afternoon session of this IAAF Council meeting, was preceded by audiovisual presentations from each bidding city and a summary of the IAAF's evaluation team. Berlin lost bids to host the athletics championships of 1991 and 2005 but today won emphatically, with an absolute majority in the first round of voting.

IAAF

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