SPORTS minister Hugh Robertson believes hosting the 2017 World Athletics Championships will be the perfect legacy for the London Olympic Stadium.
UK Athletics confirmed today they will bid to stage the event in the capital five years after the Olympic Games.
The bid has the full backing of the Government and the mayor of London, UKA said.
Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London 2012 organising committee and a member of the board of the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), will personally submit the bid at this month’s World Championships in Daegu, South Korea, and a decision is expected in November.
Robertson said: “The demand for London 2012 athletics tickets proves the level of public support that exists for world class track and field. Hosting the 2017 IAAF World Athletics Championships would be a wonderful legacy from London 2012 and help us fulfil a commitment made during the bid.
“We have vast experience in hosting world class sporting events and London would be a fantastic location for the championships.”
A confirmed bid backed by the Government will comes as a blow to Tottenham, who had hoped to overturn the decision to award the stadium to West Ham after next year’s Games in the High Court.
West Ham have promised to keep the running track, while Spurs want to get rid of it.
