Dozens of athletes, including Britain’s Amy Hunt, and thousands of spectators were caught up in a massive security operation involving armed police at the European Athletics Championships on Saturday night. The disruption began at approximately 8:15 p.m. after concerns were raised when a man was found in an area of Alexander Stadium with the wrong accreditation.
The West Midlands police confirmed that a man in his 30s was arrested on suspicion of fraud and remains in custody for questioning. A spokesperson stated that while the situation caused significant concern, there was no immediate risk to the public, noting, “A man was arrested following concerns of suspicious activity at the European Athletics Championships last night.”
As a precautionary measure, security protocols were enacted, resulting in the suspension of transport for championship staff and athletes. This decision triggered extensive delays for the wider public attempting to leave the venue, which is located about five miles from the centre of Birmingham. One coach reported seeing armed guards around the warm-up track and bus terminals, while police were observed searching buses.
Another leading British coach described the logistical struggle, noting they boarded a 10:15 p.m. bus that did not depart until 11:45 p.m., finally arriving back at their destination at 12:30 a.m. Despite the chaos, a team official noted, “Fortunately they kept the kitchens open for the athletes.”
Spectators faced similar frustration after the capacity 23,000 crowd witnessed both British 4x100m relay teams claim gold. Joanne Ray, a visitor from Hampshire, said she began queuing for buses at 9:50 p.m. but did not board one until 11:15 p.m. She described seeing mothers with babies and disabled people in electric wheelchairs left in the cold without any official information.
“There was a drone above us all the time, so we knew there was something going on, but we didn’t understand because we weren’t given information,” Ray added. She recounted the heavy police presence near the transport area, noting, “When we got nearer to the bus, there were lots of police, fully armed. I said to them, ‘This is not normal. We would normally see a policeman on the beat, a bobby, if you’re lucky, not armed police.'”
Ray and her husband, Ian, noted they had paid over £100 for tickets for four evenings of action, estimating they had spent roughly £2,000 in total to attend the championships. The first indication that something was amiss occurred during Saturday night’s action when stadium announcers postponed the six scheduled medal ceremonies.
Athletes, coaches, and officials, including the relay gold medallists, were instructed to return to the high-performance centre at Alexander Stadium to stay warm, with many unable to depart until around midnight. The event’s security measures were described by police as a necessary step to ensure public safety following the initial suspicious activity report.
Despite the previous night’s security scare, competition resumed on Sunday morning. Finland’s Alisa Vainio won gold in the women’s marathon in a championship record of 2:22:26, while Britain’s Abbie Donnelly secured bronze in 2:27:33, and Britain also claimed gold in the team event.
In the men’s marathon, Germany’s Amanal Petros took gold with a championship record of 2:09:11 following a solo breakaway. He finished ahead of Italy’s Pietro Riva, who was seven seconds behind, with Israel’s Gashau Ayale taking third place. The report also notes that joanne Ray, from Hampshire, said that she had started queueing for the buses at 9.50pm but didn’t get on one until 11.15pm. The report also notes that as always, our priority is the safety of the public and we want to thank everyone for their patience.”.
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