British Athletics has announced the cancellation of the Muller Anniversary Games, scheduled for July 4 and 5 at the London Stadium, due to the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
The governing body said it had made the seemingly inevitable decision in order to prioritise the safety of all personnel who would have been involved in the event.
UK Athletics chief executive Joanna Coates said the cancellation of the event – which also doubled as a Diamond League meeting – would have a “significant financial impact” on the organisation.
She added: “There will be a substantial reduction in income from the cancellation of this event and this will have an impact moving forwards.”
The Diamond League has published a revised calendar of 2020 events, which still includes the August 16 meeting at Gateshead.
The revised season is due to start on August 14 in Monaco, followed by 10 more events that stretch into October, culminating in a meeting in China.
Organisers say many of the remaining events will be staged as “one-off, exhibition events”. Diamond League points will not be awarded, and there will not be a single, 24-discipline final.
Individual event organisers will have the “flexibility and adaptability” to adapt their programmes in light of local restrictions, and will be required to communicate their schedules two months in advance.
Meanwhile the International Cricket Council has announced the postponement of the Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier scheduled to take place in Sri Lanka from July 3-19.
A 10-team tournament would have determined the final three entrants into next year’s 50-over World Cup in New Zealand, when England will defend the title they won three years ago.
Chris Tetley, the ICC’s head of events, said: “In light of the continuing travel restrictions, global health concerns and government and public health authority advice we have decided to postpone two further upcoming qualifying events due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Two ICC qualifying events, including the Women's Cricket World Cup Qualifier in Sri Lanka, have been postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
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— ICC (@ICC) May 12, 2020
“The Women’s Cricket World Cup Qualifier and the Europe qualifier to the U19 Cricket World Cup 2022 have both been impacted.
“Our priority during this difficult period is to protect the well-being of players, coaches, officials, fans and the whole cricket community and we will take well-informed, responsible decisions in relation to both postponing events and resuming international cricket.
“We will work in partnership with the Members to find an appropriate window to reschedule these events as soon as is safe and practical to do so.”
Darts officials say the PDC World Matchplay, scheduled for July 18 to 26 at te Winter Gardens in Blackpool, is still scheduled to go ahead.In a statement, the PDC said: “[W]e remain in regular contact with the UK Government in relation to updates regarding regulations and are constantly monitoring the global situation.
The PDC added that it intends to make a final decision on the event on or before Friday June 5.
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