Dome will host world gymnastics

14 April 2012

The revamped Millennium Dome is poised to be awarded its first major international sports event tomorrow, Standard Sport can reveal.

The Dome, which will reopen in Spring 2007 as the "The O2 arena", is expected to get the goahead to stage the 2009 world gymnastics championships.

The decision is set to be taken at a meeting of the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) in Helsinki.

It is understood that FIG chiefs are very keen to bring the event to London. Their approval would provide a huge boost to London's bid for the 2012 Olympics.

The Dome has been earmarked as the gymnastics venue if London wins July's 2012 vote. The 2009 event would provide organisers with a great opportunity to test the venue ahead of the Games.

British gymnastics officials have already struck a deal with the BBC to act as the host broadcaster for the 2009 championships.

Crowds of up to 16,520 are expected to be able to watch each session of the 6-day championships involving around 1,000 gymnasts. Britain last staged the championships in Birmingham in 1995.

The 2009 event would provide the sport with a much-needed boost in the UK after its Lottery funding was cut in February because of poor performances at last year's Olympics.

It would also help the Olympic bid since London has not staged as many high-profile championships as Paris.

Details of the Dome's transformation from a notorious white elephant into an entertainment venue were revealed this week. The U.S. company, Anschutz Entertainment, is heading a £500million investment in the site.

Dome will host world gymnastics

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