Wanda Diamond League announces new provisional 2020 calendar

What you need to know:

  • Zurich was to stage one of the two finals but that has also been shelve hence neither the finals will be stage nor athletes earn points.
  • Notably, the exact date for Prefontaine Classic due for October in Eugene, USA will be disclosed later.

The shortened provisional 2020 Diamond League calendar starts on August 10 in Monaco, the organisers announced on Tuesday.

The calendar that will end in October and has 11 events, has seen several events being cancelled for instance Rabat, London and Zurich as organisers continue to adapt the season in the face of the coronavirus crisis.

Zurich was to stage one of the two finals but that has also been shelve hence neither the finals will be stage nor athletes earn points.

Notably, the exact date for Prefontaine Classic due for October in Eugene, USA will be disclosed later.

In recent weeks, the Diamond League has been forced to suspend a number of its meetings as a result of health and logistical concerns brought about by the global coronavirus crisis.

A statement on World Athletics website indicated that the meeting organisers, the Diamond League and World Athletics have remained committed to staging competitions athletes can compete in and fans can enjoy as soon as the global pandemic allows.

"With this in mind – and with an eye on the range of pandemic-related restrictions currently in place across the world – the decision has been made to propose an alternative calendar for the 2020 season," said World Athletics in a statement.

This provisional calendar will see a number of Diamond League meetings go ahead as one-off exhibition events, while others will be staged as adapted Diamond League meetings.

Which media and social media channels will broadcast the events in the host countries and internationally will be determined at a later stage.

There will be no events in July and the first half of August (other than national championships where possible), and the season will instead be extended into October.

The 2020 Diamond League will not be a structured series of events leading to a final as is usually the case.

Given the current discrepancies in training and travel opportunities, the statement noted that it would be impossible to ensure a level playing field and a fair qualification system during 2020.

Athletes will therefore not earn Diamond League points this season, and there will not be a single 24-discipline final in Zurich as originally planned.

“The uncertainty over future government restrictions and timings in the different host countries requires flexibility and adaptability on the part of meeting organisers when planning, staging and offering competition opportunities to athletes,” noted the statement.

The statement explained that each meeting organiser will review and announce the format of their competition and which disciplines are included two months before the event takes place so they can work with the prevailing conditions set by their governments.

This two-month window will also help to give athletes time to prepare mentally, stay motivated and adjust training for competition.

Due to the extraordinary situation in 2020 and the restructuring of the entire season, Zurich has been granted by the General Assembly of Diamond League the right to stage the finals in 2021 and 2022. This was possible after Eugene has given consent to the final of 2022 awarded to them be shifted by one year to 2023.

The new provisional dates for Wanda Diamond League events in 2020 are as follows:

In August:

14 Monaco

23 Stockholm

In September:

2 Lausanne

4 Brussels

6 Paris (tbc)

12 Gateshead

17 Rome/Naples

19 Shanghai
In October:

9 Doha

17 second meeting in China (venue tba)

The date of Eugene remains to be determined.