15.04.2026
Helsinki’s 2030 European Championships bid and its finances under analysis – EA Evaluation Commission to visit Helsinki in June
Negotiations on Helsinki’s bid to host the 2030 European Athletics Championships will take place in Helsinki on 22–23 June 2026 with European Athletics (EA). During the visit, the EA Evaluation Commission, led by Sylvia Barlag of the Netherlands, will review the bid’s plans, competition venues and finances.
“We’re now in the home stretch of the bid. In the negotiations, we have to convince the EA commission of the competitiveness of our bid, in particular its financial side, and of how the Finnish government and the City of Helsinki will participate in funding the project. That is what EA requires,” says Riikka Pakarinen, Chairperson of the Finnish Athletics Federation (SUL).
“We can’t compete with Switzerland or Belgium on a centrally European location or on finances. Our strengths are the renovated Olympic Stadium, short distances, our event and television expertise, and a compact event area in the city centre,” Pakarinen says.
Alongside Helsinki, the 2030 European Championships are also being bid for by Brussels (Belgium) and Zürich (Switzerland). The decision on the host will come in March 2027. The decision was originally expected earlier, but was postponed due to EA’s other championship awarding processes and ongoing television negotiations.
Commission to meet decision-makers and inspect facilities
In Helsinki, the EA Evaluation Commission will meet with SUL leadership and decision-makers from the City of Helsinki and the Finnish government, and visit the competition and training venues.
“The commission will familiarise itself with the competition facilities at the renovated Olympic Stadium, the Eläintarha field, and at Leppävaara in Espoo, which is being planned as the athletes’ training venue,” says Harri Aalto, CEO of SUL.
“The visit programme also includes Helsinki-Vantaa Airport. In addition, the commission is interested in the services available in the Vantaa and Espoo areas, as well as the hotels in central Helsinki being planned to accommodate teams, media and EA representatives.”
The visit will be set up at the European Athletics member federations’ CEO congress on 15–16 April in Baku, Azerbaijan, where the Helsinki 2030 bid will be presented to representatives of EA’s member federations and EA leadership.
“If realised, the Helsinki 2030 European Championships project will generate a regional economic impact of EUR 100 million through travel, tax revenue, employment and increased consumption by the local population,” notes Harri Halme, Project Manager of the bid.
Facts about the Helsinki 2030 European Athletics Championships bid
- A preliminary report by the Ministry of Education and Culture (July 2024) showed that spectator spending during the event will amount to EUR 65.9 million. The economic impact of the organisers is EUR 20 million, and the total economic impact of the event is EUR 64.0 million. The total economic impact of the event for Finland is EUR 86 million. The regional economic impact rises to EUR 100 million through travel, tax revenue, employment and increased consumption by the local population.
- Twelve competition broadcasts, totalling 1,600 hours, will be televised from Finland to 36 channels. In Europe, the event will be shown on free-to-air channels in nearly every country. The event will be available across various distribution channels in 200 countries.
- The 2030 European Championships in Helsinki will be the largest international sports and physical activity event held in Finland in 20 years. During the event weeks, Finland will welcome 2,000 athletes and team members, 2,000 media representatives, and spectators and guests from across Europe. Major-scale events raise Finland’s profile as a travel destination.
- 87% of Finns consider it important that Finland hosts international sporting events, and 79% feel proud when Finland serves as a host country. In addition, 71% of Finns consider it important that Finnish athletes can compete in major championships in front of a home crowd (study: December 2025, Sponsor Insight).
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Photo: Finnish Athletics Federation (SUL)
Source: Press release of the Finnish Athletics Federation (SUL), 15 April 2026
Further information:
Riikka Pakarinen, Chairperson, Finnish Athletics Federation, +358 40 580 0833, riikka.pakarinen@sul.fi
Harri Aalto, CEO, Finnish Athletics Federation, +358 40 823 4200, harri.aalto@sul.fi
Harri Halme, Project Manager, 2030 European Championships bid, +358 40 7545 104, harri.halme@welho.com