UK Athletics is "exploring a radical plan to stage next year's Diamond League meeting at a range of venues around London, with the sprint events coming from the Mall and the jumps from Horse Guards Parade," according to Owen Gibson of the London GUARDIAN. To "maintain the momentum of this weekend's Anniversary Games, UK Athletics is also hoping to bring the London Diamond League meeting back to the Olympic Stadium in 2015," despite the fact that its conversion "will not be finished until the summer" of '16. UK Athletics CEO Niels de Vos said, "There is a growing desire to keep this in London because you don't want to prick the bubble." A total of 195,000 tickets were sold for the three days of the Anniversary Games, which raised hopes among UK Athletics execs that "they will be able to enthuse a new wave of athletics fans who were engaged by last year's London Olympics." The Anniversary Games are "believed to have brought in revenue" of between £9M ($13.8M) and £10M ($15.4M) in ticket sales and sponsorship, leaving UK Athletics with a profit of at least £5M ($7.7M) (GUARDIAN, 7/27).
