Ready to rock in 2026

There is so much to look forward to this year but Katharine Merry is confident that Birmingham will rise to the occasion and provide the biggest moments in the year ahead.

What does Ozzy Osbourne have to do with the coming year in athletics? Well, more than you might think, actually. Before you start wondering what on earth I’m going on about and if I’m still on the Christmas Bailey’s, please just bear with me for a moment. 

The Prince of Darkness is, of course, inextricably linked with Birmingham and the West Midlands. He, and Black Sabbath, have been one of the area’s biggest exports and his passing last summer – with all of the emotional outpouring that brought just a couple of weeks after what proved to be his farewell performance at Villa Park – brought a unity and a new energy to the city. 

The region responded and not only has it changed the atmosphere on the streets among the residents but it has sparked initiatives and events that have attracted more and more people from across the world to come and see where Ozzy grew up, to see where he performed, to visit the Black Sabbath bridge on Broad Street in the centre of the city and simply pay homage to someone who had such star power and was such a life force. 

“Yes, Katharine, that’s all well and good but what does that have to do with athletics?” I hear you cry. Well, there’s a strong link because Birmingham is going to be right at the heart of some of the biggest goings on in the sport in 2026. 

From a British perspective, the national indoor and outdoor championships will be taking place there but the headline act, of course, is the arrival of the European Championships in August. It’s been said so many times that Britain excels when it comes to staging major events but I’m going to say it again and, as we all know, the impression that a host city leaves can have a long-lasting effect. 

The championships are going to fall less than a month after the anniversary of Ozzy’s death, so his presence is going to be everywhere. Tourism is going to be high, people are going to be booking out hotels, the bridge and the murals are going to be swamped with flowers again… the athletes and athletics supporters will be arriving at a very, very exciting point in the summer. 

Last summer on BBC Radio WM I presented the funeral cortège programme when Ozzy drove through the city for the final time. My emotional BBC West Midlands clip went viral and sits on 1.8 million views. That is the strength of Ozzy Osbourne and I have already had meetings with my producers on how we’re going to build up to the championships and how we’re going to spread the word. There has already been a fear of missing out that is prompting punters to start snapping up tickets. 

The Commonwealth Games of 2022 at Alexander Stadium far exceeded people’s expectations in how it was delivered and what it did for the region and all the omens at the moment are pointing towards something similar happening. The athletes know that Birmingham can be relied upon to do a good job – and that goes a long way to enticing the biggest names to show up, too. 

Personally, as a King appointed Deputy Lieutenant of the region, who won’t live anywhere else…  it’s going to mean a lot! I never competed at a major championships at Alexander stadium. Yes, I ran national champs there, represented my country there and, as a member of Birchfield Harriers, spent countless hours training there, but I never ran a major champs there. I’d have loved to have done that, like Matt Hudson-Smith did at the Commonwealths in 2022. I know he didn’t get the result he wanted then but, fingers crossed, he can get it at the Europeans. 

I’m proud to showcase these championships, to push them and get everybody as excited about it all as I am. Obviously, as president of Birchfield Harriers, it’s another opportunity for us as a club to showcase what we do. It was well publicised at the time that the build-up to the Commonwealth Games was difficult for us to navigate but this time it looks like being much smoother. A lot of lessons have been learned from four years ago. 

I’m sure there will also be a lot to learn from this year’s edition of the Games, which will have a very different look about them in Glasgow in July. This stripped back version seems to have saved the Games for now and, with India coming in to host 2030, there is at least a little breathing space. 

I hope Glasgow proves to be a big success again. I know the Commonwealths don’t excite everyone, but I do think they represent a huge and important opportunity for athletes that I think would be sorely missed from what is an ever-changing calendar. 

I want Glasgow to be a success and I want Birmingham to be a success. I think, if both of those go to plan, then everything else should take care of itself. The Diamond League isn’t perfect but it’s made up of long established events that are hugely dependable and we know it’s going to deliver fast times, big jumps and long throws. There is intrigue around how World Athletics’ inaugural Ultimate Championships might work out but, again, Budapest has a track record for putting on a great show after the 2023 World Championships so there are reasons to be encouraged there, too. It’s not some step into the unknown.

Overall, my wish for the new year is to see more of our brilliant athletes producing inspirational performances and that’s another reason to hope for success at these big championships. 

Steve Cram and Steve Smith recently announced an initiative that hopes to keep more youngsters in athletics and I applaud them for it. They are looking for opinions and ideas from across the sport about how to combat the worrying dropout rates among teenagers and I hope they get a wide cross section – from coaches and officials to athletes themselves – having an input.

It’s not an easy issue to tackle. Both of my kids play football and have never really shown a desire to try athletics or asked me if they could go down to the track and I can’t honestly put my finger on exactly why that is. I know athletics can be very lonely, given its individual nature and being so different from team sports, but there is so much it can teach you and give you – not to mention the potential lifelong friendships that are there to be made. 

I think it’s important that athletics doesn’t try to compete with sports like football, which is in a world of its own in terms of participation and attention levels. I think instead we should be doing our utmost to promote all of the advantages that come with being involved in track and field – and then being in the best situation to take advantage of those who might decide the big team sports aren’t for them any more. Matt Hudson-Smith was with Wolves’ academy, for example, and Adam Gemili was at Chelsea before going on to become an Olympic sprinter. 

Having exposure to well-known athletes doing amazing things will help the cause, too, which is another reason to hope these major opportunities that await in 2026 can be seized with both hands. “I’m going through changes,” as Ozzy once sang. The same could be said for athletics, so will this be the year when the sport can take another significant step forward?