London could host a second ‘summer of sport’ after Mayor Boris Johnson submitted a formal bid to bring the 2017 Paralympic Athletics World Championships to the capital.
London is already set to host the World Athletics Championships in August 2017.
If successful the Mayor’s bid would see London become the first city to host the two championships side by side.
City Hall says the bid includes a commitment to deploy Team London Ambassador volunteers at the championships and would help create a lasting sporting legacy.
Hosting the championships would cost around £8.6 million of which City Hall says the “vast majority” would be recouped from ticket sales and sponsorship.
Mayor Johnson said: “Securing the championships would not only reinforce London’s reputation as the world’s leading sporting city, it would bring a vital multi-million pound boost to the capital’s economy, creating jobs and driving growth in east London.”
Ed Warner, Chairman of UK Athletics and also of the International Paralympic Committee Athletics Sports Technical Committee said: “I’m delighted that the city has decided to build on the success of the Paralympics by bidding to host the IPC’s flagship athletics event in the Olympic Stadium in 2017 and believe that, if successful, London would establish a new standard for the IPC World Athletics Championships against which all future editions would be measured.”