Glasgow awarded 2027 SPAR European Cross Country Championships
by 24th April 2026
Glasgow has been awarded the 2027 SPAR European Cross Country Championships on the first day of the European Athletics Council Meeting in Birmingham on Friday (24).
This will be the fourth time Great Britain will stage the championships. The first two editions of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships were held in Alnwick in 1994 and 1995 before the championships came to Scottish soil for the first time in Edinburgh in 2003.
Glasgow also held the 1978 World Cross Country Championships in Bellahouston Park where European distance running legends Grete Waitz and John Treacy swept the senior titles. The same venue is set to host the SPAR European Cross Country Championships almost 50 years later in 2027.
In the ensuing five decades, Glasgow has been in the spotlight of the athletics world when the city hosted the 1990 and 2019 editions of the European Athletics Indoor Championships, the 2014 Commonwealth Games as well as the 2024 World Athletics Indoor Championships.
European Athletics President Dobromir Karamarinov said: "We are very pleased to award the 2027 SPAR European Cross Country Championships to Glasgow in Great Britain, the most successful nation in the history of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships.
“Great Britain, and Scotland in particular, has a rich history in long distance and cross country running and it goes without saying that Great Britain has an impeccable record of hosting world class major athletics championships. These two factors alone make Glasgow the ideal host city for our showcase cross country event next December.”
European Athletics CEO Christian Milz said: "With the 2026 European Athletics Championships in Birmingham on the horizon, we are delighted that UK Athletics has delivered another highly detailed and credible bid for another of our major championships in 2027.
“There is a genuine enthusiasm for cross country running in Great Britain and we can always count on major events on British soil to be extremely well-attended locally. We have all of the ingredients for another exceptional edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships next year.”
UKA CEO Jack Buckner said: “We are delighted for Glasgow to be awarded as hosts for the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in 2027.
"Cross country is at the heart of athletics in the UK with many of our top runners beginning their journey on the muddy routes, making this an incredibly special competition to be hosting. We have a rich history of top performances from a Novuna GB & NI team perspective, so bringing this event back to the UK where it first began will be one not to be missed!
“This competition will come after an already exciting time for athletics in the UK, hosting the European Athletics Championships this August and we want to thank European Athletics for continuing to entrust us with hosting their events.”
At the last edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships in Lagoa, Italy’s Nadia Battocletti retained her senior women’s title while Spain’s Thierry Ndikumwenayo upset world 10,000m champion Jimmy Gressier from France in the senior men’s race. Spain topped the medal table.
The 2026 edition of the SPAR European Cross Country Championships will be held in Belgrade, Serbia.