European Athletics Championships: Key events, timetable & BBC coverage

Figure caption, European Athletics Championships 2024: Keely Hodgkinson says she ran the final despite feeling ill

ByAlistair Watkins

BBC Sport Senior Journalist

Updated 1 hour ago

The first European Athletics Championships to be held in Great Britain are under way at Alexander Stadium in Birmingham.

The Championships take place from 10-16 August, with Britain's team of 94 athletes chasing top spot in the medals table.

Among the British stars on show are defending champions Keely Hodgkinson and Dina Asher-Smith, local boy Matthew Hudson-Smith, Katarina Johnson-Thompson, Amy Hunt, Georgia Hunter Bell and team captain Jake Wightman.

Sweden's Armand Duplantis, Norway's Jakob Ingebrigtsen and Greece's Miltiadis Tentoglou are all seeking to win their fourth successive European titles, while Hodgkinson, Italy's Marcell Jacobs and Ukraine's Yaroslava Mahuchikh are all targeting three in a row.

Athletes from 49 nations will compete for 50 gold medals - including a mixed 4x100m relay for the first time - and there are 10 world champions and seven Olympic champions taking part.

The BBC will bring you comprehensive coverage of the championships on BBC One, BBC Two, BBC iPlayer, Radio 5 Live, the BBC Sport website, the BBC Sport app and the BBC Sport social media channels including YouTube.

Can GB return to top of medal table?

Asher-Smith (100m), Hodgkinson (800m), the women's half marathon team and the women's 4x100m relay squad all won gold as Great Britain came third in the medal table at Rome 2024.

Hosts Italy won 11 golds, and a total of 24 medals, to top the medal table followed by that year's Olympic hosts France with four golds and 16 medals overall.

GB topped the medal table in Brussels in 1950 and Budapest in 1998 before finishing first at Zurich 2014, Berlin 2018 and Munich 2022, with the championships being held every two years since 2010.

With home advantage for the first time in the championships' 92-year history, the British team will be hoping to get back on top of the podium.

Image caption, Italy finished top of the medal table in 2024 as Great Britain came third behind France

Asher-Smith eyes European record

Figure caption, Asher-Smith wins second European 100m gold medal

Sprinter Asher-Smith has won six European golds and two silvers from four championships and could overtake the seven golds of Croatian discus thrower Sandra Elkasevic (formerly Perkovic) to become the most successful athlete in the history of the championships.

The 30-year-old, who is expected to compete in three events, could also overtake fellow sprinter Irena Szewinska of Poland as the most-decorated European athlete of all time. Szewinska won a total of 10 medals from 1966-1978.

Of other current athletes, Norwegian star Ingebrigtsen has six golds (no other medals) and Dutch star Femke Broeders-Bol has five golds and a bronze from just two championships.

Meanwhile, Hudson-Smith, who has a stand at Alexander Stadium named after him, has four golds and seven medals in total.

One more medal and he will equal France's Christophe Lamaitre as the championships' most-decorated male athlete of all-time.

A gold medal would also bring him level with Roger Black and Sir Mo Farah as the British men to have won most European titles.

When is Keely Hodgkinson racing?

Figure caption, Hodgkinson pips Broeders-Bol in 800m to return to winning ways

Arguably the most-anticipated event for British fans is Hodgkinson's 800m battle with Audrey Werro and Femke Broeders-Bol.

Hodgkinson, 24, sat out the Commonwealth Games and comes into the championships fresh from winning the London Diamond League meeting in July.

However, she faces two tough opponents in her quest for another title.

Swiss star Werro, 22, beat Hodgkinson in June and has twice run faster than the reigning Olympic champion this season, edging closer and closer to the 43-year-old world record of one minute 53.28 seconds.

Broeders-Bol, the 26-year-old world 400m hurdles champion, has moved up to 800m and finished just behind Hodgkinson at London Stadium as she gets up to speed in her new event.

The women's 800m heats take place on Tuesday morning, the semi-finals on Thursday morning and the final at 21:45 on Friday, 14 August.

How to follow live on the BBC

You can watch live coverage of every session on either BBC One or BBC Two as well as iPlayer, the BBC Sport website and the BBC Sport app.

Radio 5 Live and BBC Sounds will be in Birmingham to bring you daily live commentary, while the BBC Sport website and app will feature live text, reports, analysis, video clips and a medal table.

There will also be coverage on BBC Sport's social media platforms, including YouTube.

Gabby Logan and Jeanette Kwakye will present the BBC TV coverage with Steve Cram, Andrew Cotter, Steve Backley, Colin Jackson and Paula Radcliffe commentating on the action.

London 2012 Olympic champions Dame Jessica Ennis-Hill and Greg Rutherford plus Hodgkinson's coach Jenny Meadows will also provide analysis.

All times BST. Times are subject to late changes.

Monday, 10 August (5 golds)

Evening session

TV: 19:00-20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00-22:00 on BBC One

Radio: 21:00-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:50: Women's 100m - reigning champion Asher-Smith, Hunt, Daryll Neita and Imani-Lara Lansiquot will all be aiming to win medals. Poland's 2024 European runner-up Ewa Swoboda and Geraldine Di Tizio-Frey of Switzerland are their big rivals.

21:40: Mixed 4x400m relay - Great Britain will be among the favourites to claim the title, the first of six relay gold medals on offer this week

20:40: Men's 5,000m - Jakob Ingebrigtsen makes his comeback after almost a year out through injury. British champion James West runs for the home nation.

20:33: Men's shot put - GB's Scott Lincoln qualified in sixth place

19:03: Women's shot put - no GB athlete

Other events:

19:10: Women's hammer qualification

19:35: Women's 100m hurdles first round

19:55: Women's triple jump qualification

20:10: Women's 100m semi-finals - Asher-Smith and Hunt have been drawn in the same semi-final

21:00: Women's 3,000m steeplechase first round

Tuesday, 11 August (5 golds)

Morning session

TV: 10:30-13:15 on BBC One

Hodgkinson begins the defence of her title as the women's 800m gets under way with the qualifying rounds from 12:05.

Qualifying for the men's 100m semi-finals also takes place from 11:15.

Evening session

TV: 19:00-20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00-22:00 on BBC One

Radio: 20:25-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:45: Men's 100m (semi-finals from 20:32)

21:30: Women's 110m hurdles (semi-finals from 19:55)

20:16: Men's long jump

19:25: Women's 5,000m

19:10: Men's hammer

Other events:

19:05 Women's pole vault qualification

19:55 Women's 100m hurdles semi-final

20:32 Men's 100m semi-finals

21:00 Men's 400m semi-finals

Wednesday, 12 August (4 golds)

Morning session

TV: 10:30-13:15 on BBC One

World silver medallist Hunt, Asher-Smith and Success Eduan, the three fastest European women over 200m this year, all have byes to the semi-finals as qualifying gets under way.

Amber Anning, Britain's 2025 world indoor champion, is hoping to make her comeback from injury to line up in the heats of the 400m.

And the men's decathlon begins with the 100m, the first of 10 events over the next two days.

Evening session

TV: 19:00-20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00-22:00 on BBC One

Radio: Updates on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:45: Men's 110m hurdles

21:08: Women's 400m hurdles - Britain's Emily Newnham should be one to watch

20:50: Men's 400m - Hudson-Smith aims to win the individual title for a third time

19:45: Women's hammer

Other events:

19:05 Men's decathlon high jump

19:55 Men's 110m hurdles semi-finals

20:20 Women's 200m semi-finals

20:40 Men's triple jump Qualification

21:22 Men's decathlon 400m

Thursday, 13 August (7 golds)

Morning session

TV: 10:30-13:15 on BBC One

Hodgkinson is back on the track as the women's 800m reaches the semi-finals stage at 12:10, while the decathlon continues.

Evening session

TV: 19:00-20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00-22:00 on BBC One

Radio: 19:30-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:50: Women's 200m - could there be a British 1-2-3 with Hunt, Asher-Smith and Success Eduan all competing for medals?

21:28: Men's 800m - Burgin looks to gain a first international title

21:10: Decathlon 1500m - final event

20:45: Men's discus

20:30: Women's 3,000m steeplechase

19:50: Women's pole vault

19:40: Women's triple jump

Other events:

18:35 Men's decathlon javelin throw (Group A)

19:35 Men's decathlon javelin throw (Group B)

20:05 Men's 200m semi-finals

Friday, 14 August (6 golds)

Morning session

TV: 10:30-13:15 on BBC One

Olympic silver medallist Johnson-Thompson starts her bid to win a first European heptathlon title.

World silver medallist Wightman is the one to watch in qualifying for the men's 1500m, while world record holder Duplantis begins his quest to win a fourth European pole vault title in a row.

Evening session

TV: 19:00-20:00 on BBC Two and 20:00-22:00 on BBC One

Radio: 20:30-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:45: Women's 800m - Hodgkinson bids to retain her title

21:25: Men's 200m

20:40: Men's 400m hurdles - Karsten Warholm is aiming for his fourth European title

20:30: Women's discus

20:00: Men's high jump

19:45: Women's 10,000m

Other events:

19:35 Women's heptathlon shot put

19:45 Women's 10,000m (Final)

20:00 Men's high jump (Final)

20:30 Women's discus throw (Final)

20:40 Men's 400m hurdles (Final)

20:55 Women's heptathlon 200m (Heats)

21:25 Men's 200m (Final)

21:46 Women's 800m (Final)

Saturday, 15 August (13 golds)

Morning session

BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport website: 07:30

The men's and women's half-marathon and marathon race walks take place around the city streets before BBC coverage starts

TV: 10:00-13:30 on BBC One

The women's heptathlon continues with the long jump and javelin, while Hunter Bell is in action in qualifying for Sunday's 1500m final. The sprint relay teams also take to the track for the qualifying rounds.

Evening session

TV: 19:15-22:00 on BBC One

Radio: 21:00-22:00 on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:48: Women's 4x100m relay

21:33: Men's 4x100m relay

21:07: Men's 1500m

20:25: Men's 10,000m

20:17: Men's triple jump

20:10: Women's 400m

20:07: Women's high jump

20:01: Men's javelin

19:45: Heptathlon 800m - final event

Sunday, 16 August (10 golds)

Morning session

TV: 07:25-10:35 on BBC One

The women's and men's marathons take place on the streets of the city from 07:30 and 08:10 respectively.

Evening session

TV: 19:00-21:00 on BBC One

Radio: 2030-2200 on 5 Live & Sounds

Finals:

21:48 Men's 4x400m relay

21:33: Women's 4x400m relay

21:13: Women's 1500m

20:50: Men's 3,000m steeplechase

20:35: Mixed 4x100m relay

20:05: Women's long jump

19:55: Women's javelin

19:30: Men's pole vault