Liverpool to bid to host the 2022 World Gymnastics Championships

Liverpool, UK Sport and British Gymnastics are set to bid to host the 2022 World Championships.

Liverpool City Council's cabinet is set to endorse the bid to the Federation of International Gymnastics (FIG) on Friday December 15.

If successful, the championships would be the biggest ever international sporting event held at the Echo Arena complex and is expected to provide a £6m boost to the local economy.

Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson said: "The World Gymnastics Championships in 2022 would be a huge sporting occasion for Liverpool and a unique opportunity to showcase the city to a global audience.

"Liverpool has a fantastic track record in nurturing gymnastic talent like triple world champion Beth Tweddle and we've fostered a great relationship with British Gymnastics by hosting its championships since 2012, so a 2022 World Championship would be great way to celebrate a decade-long journey.

"A lot of hard work remains to be done but our exciting bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games undoubtedly boosted the city's reputation for its ability to host prestigious sporting events.

"We have world-class facilities, brilliant partners in the city and in British Gymnastics and UK Sport, and we have the x-factor in our passionate crowds who are second to none, so I can guarantee we would give the sport of gymnastics a World Championships to remember."

Both UK Sport, which will support the bid through National Lottery funding, and British Gymnastics regard Liverpool's ability to co-locate all competition and training facilities at the Kings Dock as a huge asset - with on-campus hotels requiring minimal transport requirements for athletes, coaching staff and judges.

A UK bid is also strengthened by the fact that British Gymnastics is held in high esteem by the FIG for its ability to stage world-class events, having held three World Championships, the most recent of which in Glasgow was widely acknowledged as the best ever, as well as the 2014 Commonwealth Games and 2012 Olympic Games.

The Federation of International Gymnastics is expected to announce the winning bid for the 2022 World Championships at its next council meeting in Istanbul in May 2018.