Overview
- Organisers and ARD have confirmed that athletics will be held away from the central Finals site for the 2027 Finals in Stuttgart rather than being fully integrated into the host-city festival.
- Officials cite a lack of suitably sized stadia with running tracks in Stuttgart and many large German cities as the practical reason the events cannot be staged at the main Finals venue.
- Finals management says at least one discipline will be outsourced again and has mentioned shot put as a likely candidate for regional reasons linked to athletes from nearby cities.
- Possible hosts under consideration are Bochum, Braunschweig and a return to Dresden while Ulm is no longer available because its stadium will not be ready, and the DLV will make the final allocation.
- Broadcast groups stress athletics draws large TV audiences—more than two million watched live coverage from Bochum—and athletes say splitting events hurts their experience and the festival atmosphere.