World Athletics site visit to Belgrade (© LOC)
With just two months to go until the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade22 and preparations in full swing for the event, representatives of World Athletics recently visited the Serbian capital.
The 13-person delegation visited the Stark Arena, which will host the action from 18-20 March. After a detailed analysis of the Arena, the talks continued at the Crowne Plaza Hotel.
Almost 900 athletes from 137 countries plan to attend the World Athletics Indoor Championships Belgrade 22, four years since the last edition took place.
The pandemic forced the postponement of the 2020 championships, but preparations are on track for the 2022 edition, to be held in Serbia for the first time.
Following a site visit to Belgrade this week, World Athletics said:
“We’re impressed with the work of the local organising committee in their planning and preparation for this event,” said World Athletics Competition Manager Luca Verrascina. “Ticket sales have started well and we remain hopeful that we will have a full house of spectators at one of our World Athletics Series events for the first time since 2019.
“Our athletes are excited for the indoor athletics season and we expect to see many of the stars of the Tokyo Olympic Games competing in the arena in Belgrade in March at what we are confident will be an outstanding event.
“We are very satisfied with the advancement of the organisational programme. Space requirements for competition are very close to being fulfilled and the proposed timelines should allow us to work in ‘championship mode’ from the test event on 7 March.
“We staged also a seminar for local officials on all matters and issues that could potentially arise during an event like the World Indoor Championships,” added Verrascina. “More than 50 officials joined the event and the participation was active and productive. We also recognised the great integration between the areas and this is a key factor from competition point of view.”
