The Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix, formerly known as Aviva Indoor Grand Prix, is an annual indoor
track and field
Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping events ...
competition which is held in mid-February at the
Arena Birmingham
Arena Birmingham (known for sponsorship reasons as Utilita Arena Birmingham, and previously as The Barclaycard Arena and originally as the National Indoor Arena) is an indoor arena and sporting venue in central Birmingham, United Kingdom. It ...
in
Birmingham
Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. It is one of a handful of events to hold
IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings
The IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings were an annual series of indoor track and field competitions organized by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) from 1997 until the end of 2015 season. In 2016 IAAF launched the IAAF World Ind ...
status. As one of the later major meetings of the indoor athletics season, it often serves as preparation for the biennial
European Athletics Indoor Championships
The European Athletics Indoor Championships is a biennial indoor track and field competition for European athletes that is organised by the European Athletic Association. It was held for the first time in 1970, replacing the European Indoor Games, ...
and
IAAF World Indoor Championships
The World Athletics Indoor Championships are a biennial indoor track and field competition served as the global championship for that version of the sport. Organised by the World Athletics, the competition was inaugurated as the ''World Indoor G ...
. The meeting is directed by former athlete
Ian Stewart and attracts numerous high calibre athletes including World and Olympic medallists.
The event is one of three indoor athletics competitions in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
which are sponsored by
Müller, alongside the Müller
Birmingham Grand Prix and the Müller Anniversary Games in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The Müller Indoor Grand Prix was previously known as the
Norwich Union
Norwich Union was the name of insurance company Aviva's British arm before June 2009. It was originally established in 1797. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
On 29 April 2008, Aviva a ...
Indoor Grand Prix prior to the sponsor's rebranding as Aviva in 2009.
In 2016 the meeting was staged at the
Emirates Arena
The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, known for sponsorship reasons as the Emirates Arena, is an indoor arena and velodrome in Dalmarnock, Glasgow, Scotland. Built for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, these venues hosted the badminto ...
under new sponsorship (
Sainsbury's
J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales.
Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...
) in Glasgow instead of Birmingham.
The 2016 edition was part of the inaugural
IAAF World Indoor Tour
The World Athletics Indoor Tour, formerly the IAAF World Indoor Tour, is an annual series of indoor track and field meetings, held since 2016. It was designed to create a Diamond League-style circuit for indoor track and field events, to raise th ...
. The 2017 edition moved back to Birmingham, and venue will alternate in future years.
The Indoor Grand Prix venue has also been used for international level competitions, hosting the
2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 9th IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics were held in the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, UK from 14 to 16 March 2003. It was the first time the Championships had been held in the UK. There were a total number of 589 participat ...
and the
2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships were held in the National Indoor Arena (NIA) in Birmingham, England, from Friday, 2 March to Sunday, 4 March 2007. Birmingham also held the 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships.
Men's results Track ...
.
World records
Over the course of its history, numerous
world records
A world record is usually the best global and most important performance that is ever recorded and officially verified in a specific skill, sport, or other kind of activity. The book ''Guinness World Records'' and other world records organization ...
have been set at the Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix.
Meeting records
Men
Women
References
External links
Müller Indoor Grand Prix websitefrom UK Athletics
{{IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings
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Annual track and field meetings
Athletics competitions in England
Sport in Birmingham, West Midlands
IAAF Indoor Permit Meetings
Track and field in the United Kingdom
World Athletics Indoor Tour