BBC and ARD-ZDF representatives gave a glimpse into their large-scale broadcast plans for the first multisport European Championships at a special event to mark the one-year-to-go countdown.

The European Championships is a major new multisport event taking place every four years, supported by Europe’s free-to-air broadcasters, which aggregates the existing senior continental championships of Athletics (European Athletics), Aquatics (LEN), Cycling (UEC), Gymnastics (UEG), Rowing (FISA), Triathlon (ETU), with a new Golf Team Championships (ET & LET) – all unified under a common brand.

Speaking at the event organised by co-hosts Glasgow and Berlin on the side lines of the IAAF World Championships, European Broadcasting Union Director of Sport Stefan Kuerten confirmed that more than 1 billion people in Europe and across the globe will be able to enjoy all the action from the European Championships thanks to agreements with almost 40 different broadcasters. Sports fans will be able to enjoy up to 300 hours of programming across television, radio and online, free to air in all the main markets, with an anticipated 2,700 hours of television coverage.

Ron Chakraborty from BBC Sport said: “There is no doubt that we will be giving the 2018 European Championships the BBC ‘big event’ treatment, like we do for the Olympic Games, the FIFA World Cup and, as you have just witnessed, the IAAF World Championships.”

Achim Hammer of ZDF said: “Together with ARD, we will be broadcasting around 120 hours of sport live over the duration of the 2018 European Championships. We are going live throughout … live in the morning, live in the afternoon and live in the evening.”

Carsten Flügel of ARD said: “We want to thank the participating European Sports Federations for helping us create a very reliable and TV-friendly time schedule because that has been vital for us. We are very happy that these different sports have come together to make a united European Championships.”

The official opening title sequence for the inaugural European Championships was also unveiled at the media event. The European Sports Federations, Glasgow and Berlin, the EBU, BBC and ARD-ZDF worked together with British and German design agencies to create titles that represent the coming together of the seven sports and two host cities in a truly ground-breaking partnership.

The event also featured star athletes competing in London, including reigning Olympic, European, and now World Champion Katerina Stefanidi of Greece, newly crowned 400m Hurdles World Champion Karsten Warholm of Norway, new 110m hurdles World Bronze Medallist Balazs Baji of Hungary, and star German athlete Konstanze Klosterhalfen.

Stefanidi led the athletes in looking forward to the 2018 European Championships, saying, “Amsterdam last year was my first major senior title so the European Championships are very important to me and I intend to defend my title in Berlin. I find the idea of bringing all the sports together in Europe exciting and am looking forward to being a part of it. I hope Greece will be able to win medals in many of the other sports and I have time to watch what is happening in Glasgow.”

FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT:

James Mulligan, European Championships Communication Consultant, +41 (0) 79 694 48 29 james.mulligan@europeanchampionships.com   

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
1. The 2018 European Championships will be staged by seven European Sports Federations and the Host Cities of Glasgow and Berlin.

2. The Glasgow 2018 sports programme will start with a day of qualifications on Thursday 02 August and will run until Sunday 12 August, while the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships will be held between Tuesday 07 August and Sunday 12 August.

3.   The EBU is the broadcast partner of the Championships and, to date, has signed agreements with almost 40 broadcasters to ensure the event will be viewed by the widest possible audience, free-to-air in all major markets. Its business arm, Eurovision Media Services, will be acting as host broadcaster, through its subsidiary European Production Coordination, and will be responsible for distributing the event to rights-holding media organizations worldwide.

4.   In total, the European Championships will span 10 days of television programming from Friday 03 August to Sunday 12 August 2018. The event has a potential television audience of around 1.03 billion with many more viewers across multiple digital platforms. There will be up to 300 hours of host broadcaster coverage, and an anticipated 2,700 hours of television coverage.

5. Around 3,000 athletes will travel to Scotland as part of a total delegation of around 8,500 including officials, media and others. A further 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin.

7. Berlin's Olympic Stadium will be the venue for the European Athletics Championships with the road races and race walking events held throughout the city.

8. The European Aquatics Championships will take place at Glasgow's Tollcross International Swimming Centre, with diving at Edinburgh's Royal Commonwealth Pool, synchronized swimming at the Cotton Sports Campus, and open water swimming at Loch Lomond.

9. Four European Cycling Championships will be staged in Glasgow. Track, Road, Mountain Bike and BMX will attract 650 of Europe’s top names to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails, the streets of Glasgow and the surrounding metropolitan area, and a new world championship and Olympic standard BMX track to be built in the Knightswood area of the city.

10. The European Golf Team Championships will take place at the Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course in Perth and Kinross.

11. The European Artistic Gymnastics Men’s and Women’s Championships will be staged at The SSE Hydro, the venue for the 2015 FIG World Gymnastics Championships.

12. The European Championships for both Rowing and Triathlon will both be staged at Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire.