Monday June 20th, 22:10pm GMT - WOLVERHAMPTON, WEST MIDLANDS

Kashmire Hawker, Co-Chair of the West Midlands Young Combined Authority, gives a statement responding to the announcements made on Birmingham and Solihull bids for the 2026 European Athletics Championships and 2023 Eurovision Song Contest.

"I today express my real delight at the two announcements, that confirms Birmingham is a shortlisted bidder through Birmingham City Council and UK Athletics, to host the XXVI (26th) European Athletics Championship in 2026 at the Alexander Stadium and that a partnership of Birmingham City Council, Resorts World and Solihull Metropolitan Council will formally apply to host the LXVII (67th) Eurovision Song Contest in 2023 at Resorts World Arena in May next year!

Despite the scale of the European Athletics Championship, a UK venue has never been given the honour and responsability to organise the event since it began in 1934 and with Birmingham 2022 opening up our region to the world like never before in just 5 1/2 weeks time, hosting Europe at a regenerated Heart of Athletics in 4 years time would only feel right and proper and back up the extraordinary opportunity which the XXII Commonwealth Games are already giving to our patch.

And seeing the confirmation tonight that Resorts World Arena has officially cleared the diary and confirmed avaliability to welcome more than 15,000 spectactors from around the globe in 11 months, makes me incredibly excited of the immense possibilities that Eurovision can bring. With the BBC making positive strides in seriously investing in the region, the benefits which the Contest would bring to both Birmingham and Solihull (which is the Council which the site of the NEC sits within) would be astronomically game changing for music and culture.

I and my Young Combined Authority colleagues give our full support and if given the right to host, it will further signal a truly golden era of folk around the global coming to so positively engage with this Region at the Heart of the UK and Soul of the World!"

ENDS.