Budapest to Host the New World Athletics Ultimate Championship in 2026

The two sports directors announced the news together in Budapest on Monday, 3 June. Sebastian Coe said that 400 athletes from nearly 70 countries would participate in the championship, including well-known stars. The WA’s aim with this new championship is to have a prestigious event of athletics that the whole world can watch each year when there are no World Athletics Championships.

At the MoD State Secretariat for Sport, Coe also said that Budapest will host the first Ultimate Championship partly because the Hungarian capital organized the best outdoor World Athletics Championship ever last year. As it turned out, there was a huge competition for hosting the event with several cities applying for it.

As for the Ultimate Championship, we wanted a hosting city that could be a world-class partner for this exciting new initiative and show the athletics to the audience arriving from all over the world in a fascinating way. Budapest has already proved its ability to do so, therefore, we are glad that the Hungarian capital will set the series of championships on its way – emphasized the WA president.

The Ultimate Championship with a total award of ten million dollars will be held between 11 and 13 September 2026. The program will last for three hours each day and Olympic and world champions, Diamond League winners and the best athletes of the year will be able to attend the competition. Virtually every discipline of athletics will be on the list at the Ultimate Championship, so there will be sprints, middle- and long-distance runs, relays, throwing and jumping in the program.

The British sports director told us that during the Ultimate Championship planned to be held biennially, semifinals and finals will be held, thus creating a serious competitive situation for even the best athletes.

The Ultimate Championship will be full of actions and excitement for the audience and will create a new level for athletics competitions. It will be a must-see championship featuring the greatest stars and at the same time, this way we make sure that there will be a world athletics competition organized each year. First in history, athletics will be able to attract the greatest attention every year – said the WA president.

Ádám Schmidt received Coe and other WA leaders – Jon Ridgeon, CEO and Jamie Fox, Director of Communications – at the state secretariat. “It is a great honour and sports diplomacy success that the World Athletics considers Budapest worthy of hosting the first Ultimate Championship” – said the state secretary.

“After the 2023 World Athletics Championships – about which Sebastian Coe said that it was the best ever –, the Hungarian sports directorate started to negotiate with the WA on how Hungary could remain in the bloodstream of athletics. We involved the Hungarian Athletics Association and the National Event Organizing Agency in the negotiations, and the Hungarian government considered that it could support Budapest in being the first host of the new series of championships. Our goal is that similarly to the World Athletics Championships, this new event would also have a long-term positive effect on Hungarian sports life” – said Ádám Schmidt.

Each participating athlete will receive from the prize money pot, and the winners of the Ultimate Championship will earn 150,000 dollars.