Finale
The final night of the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham did not disappoint. My only criticism is the slow start to the evening. Starting at 5:55 PM, there were 10 medal ceremonies. These are held outside the stadium, in fact outside the complex, but are shown on a big screen in the stadium. That lasted an hour. There was some music and dancing to entertain the crowd before eventually the men’s pole vault started at 7.15pm. The second event, the women’s javelin, started at 7. 55. By 8:30 there was long jump, javelin, track, pole vault happening simultaneously – too much to keep on top of. Starting some of the field events earlier would have given the 23,145 spectators more to watch.
That said, it was a varied and absorbing program finishing at 9:55 with a 4×400 relay. Isn’t there a World Athletics rule that all championships must end with a 4×400 relay? Then, for those who had no wish to go home, there was a further 45 minutes of medal ceremonies outside the stadium.
When the first event in the program involves Mondo clearing 6 meters, then you are on a winner. Relays are always fun to watch, and there were three, including the novel mixed 4 by 100 – with medals for the home nation in all three. The women’s long jump was one of the most exciting and high-level competitions I have ever seen. Add to that a steeplechase and a women’s 1500 meters, and you’ve certainly given the spectators value for money.
Another event that was certainly good value for money was the morning marathons through the streets of Birmingham, with individual and team medals.
A great evening’s entertainment with, as I said, just one caveat about the slow start.
Let’s hope the spectators got away promptly this evening. Last night, a police incident led to the cancellation of all spectator buses and the holding of spectators on the premises for around 2 hours. Fortunately, your correspondent had relocated before the incident, but eyewitnesses told me that it was quite scary seeing police with machine guns mingling with the crowd. Remember that in the UK police are not routinely armed. According to press reports, the police were investigating a crime and found it necessary to prevent any spectators from leaving. Eyewitnesses told me that no information was forthcoming about what was happening.
