London to host Gymnastics World Championships

The event will take place at The Dome - London 2012's proposed venue for Gymnastics and Basketball if the city is awarded the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

The six-day event will be the first major sporting event to take place at The Dome, which was originally built for London's Millennium celebrations.

The championships are expected to attract nearly 1,000 participants from more than 100 countries in front of an audience of more than 16,500 spectators.

The International Gymnastics Federation also confirmed that the BBC will act as the host broadcaster for the event, distributing coverage to around 200 countries.

London 2012 chairman Lord Sebastian Coe welcomed the news.

"This is tremendous news and will be a great test event for the Gymnastics competition in 2012," he said.

"It further demonstrates the country's commitment to hosting world-class sporting events and adds to London's experience at staging major events on a regular basis."

Mayor of London Ken Livingstone said the announcement confirmed London's status as a city capable of staging major sporting events.

"This is great news for London and the UK and a real boost to our 2012 bid," he said.

"London's unrivalled cultural diversity means competitors, officials and spectators arriving from around the world will be guaranteed a very warm welcome from the most enthusiastic sports fans in the world."

Brian Stocks, President of British Gymnastics, added: "We are delighted. I'm sure it will give added confidence to London's bid."

And Commonwealth champion Gymnast Beth Tweddle said: "This is a great honour for British Gymnastics and great for the British public who love to watch world-class Gymnastics.

"I know from my experience at the Commonwealth Games in Manchester what a difference it makes to have a home crowd and your family there with you.

"The British team have come a long way in 10 years and this will give a real boost to the young gymnasts who are coming through the ranks now."

27 May 2005