London drops 2015 world championships bid

A bid for London to host the 2015 world athletics championships was abandoned on Wednesday because of fears over a potential legal wrangle surrounding the future of the 2012 Olympic main stadium.

The decision leaves Beijing as the sole bidder and it is expected the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will confirm the Chinese capital as host city when it meets later this month.

Britain’s governing body for athletics, UK Athletics (UKA), said it planned to bid for the next championships in 2017.

UKA Chairman Ed Warner said he was disappointed not to be pursuing the 2015 bid but said “we need to present the IAAF with a bid that is free of any uncertainties”.

The 2015 bid was ditched after it emerged the Olympic Park Legacy Company (OPLC), responsible for finding an anchor tenant for the 516 million pound ($828 million) main stadium after the Olympics, could find itself open to a legal challenge over its bidding process.