IAAF series will feature 15 meetings next year, with a second fixture in China also added

The Müller Grand Prix in Gateshead is among 15 meetings announced as part of the 2020 IAAF Diamond League season.

Gateshead replaces Birmingham as a Diamond League meet host, with the Alexander Stadium unavailable due to its redevelopment for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Before the August 16 meeting in Gateshead, the Diamond League will first make a UK stop at the Müller Anniversary Games in London on July 4, while there will also be two meetings in China, the first on May 10 with the venue to be confirmed and the second in Shanghai on May 16 – a move that will please the Diamond League’s new title sponsors, the Chinese conglomerate Wanda Group.

All other current Diamond League meetings remain in the series for next year, with Doha kicking off the series on the unusually early date of April 17.

2020 DIAMOND LEAGUE MEETINGS
Doha – April 17
China (venue to be advised) – May 10
Shanghai – May 16
Stockholm – May 24
Rome – May 28
Rabat – May 31
Eugene – June 7
Oslo – June 11
Paris – June 13
London – July 4
Monaco – July 10
Gateshead – August 16
Lausanne – August 20
Brussels – September 4
Zurich – September 11

The governing body said that further work is being undertaken on whether each meeting will be able to host 11 or 12 Diamond League disciplines in the available time frame and which events each meeting will host outside of the 90-minute broadcast window. A final decision on the disciplines to be included in the international broadcast window is set to be made at the beginning of November.

On Monday it was also announced that the IAAF will launch a second international series of one-day meetings in 2020 entitled the World Athletics Continental Tour, which is designed to provide “world-class competition, top flight world ranking points and earning opportunities for many more athletes”, with a focus on the disciplines which do not feature regularly in the Diamond League. It is also set to be broadcast around the world.

The IAAF added that the world rankings system will be structured so that athletes in every discipline will earn the same level of points at their highest available one-day meeting series, whether that is in the Diamond League or the new tour.

“The Diamond League is our shop window and we want to attract new fans with a fast, action-packed format that is commercially attractive to broadcasters and partners. That approach has already been endorsed by our new title sponsor Wanda,” said IAAF president and chairman of the Diamond League board, Sebastian Coe.

“I am delighted that the Diamond League meetings have chosen to actively support the creation of the World Athletics Continental Tour as this will enable us to maintain strong international competition opportunities for all our world class athletes as they come through their continental structures.”