European Athletics is to announce the host city of the 2016 European Athletics Championships on Friday. The decision by the European Athletics Council will be made following presentations by the candidate cities of Amsterdam, Istanbul and Split.
With eight months to go before Helsinki hosts the 2012 championships, European Athletics will award the rights to host the 2016 edition of its flagship event during its 131st Council meeting being held in the Finnish capital.
Following the decision, European Athletics President Hansjörg Wirz, European Athletics Director General Christian Milz and representatives from the 2016 European Athletics Championships host city will address a press conference scheduled for around noon (CET) Friday at the Radisson Blu Seaside Hotel in Helsinki.
The Croatian city of Split is the only city out of the three candidates to have hosted the European Athletics Championships, in 1990. For Amsterdam and Istanbul, it would be the first time that the Netherlands or Turkey host the premier continental athletics championships.
The 2012 European Athletics Championships will take place in Helsinki through 27 June to 1 July. The Swiss city of Zurich will continue the two-year cycle of the event when hosting the 2014 championships through 12 to 17 August.
The European Athletics Council, led by President Wirz, will decide on a number of important issues during the Autumn Council meeting set for 3-5 November. It is expected to decide on the host city for the 2013 SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
There will also be reports from recent meetings of the Competition and Development Committees.
