The IAAF announced the 2019 World Championships in Doha will culminate in a 4x400m mixed relay, according to the BBC. The event will make its global debut "before its Olympic bow" at Tokyo 2020. The IAAF also announced the men's and women's marathons will begin at midnight, and morning sessions "will be scrapped in favour of split evening sessions." IAAF President Sebastian Coe said, "We have some great World Championship firsts." The IOC announced in June that mixed-gender events in athletics, swimming, table tennis and triathlon would be added to the Olympic program for the Tokyo Games, including a 4x400m mixed relay in athletics. At the time, the IAAF said that it welcomed the introduction of mixed relays, but "that it could be difficult to implement" (BBC, 5/4). The AFP reported World Championships Organizing Committee Marketing & Communications Dir Sheikha Asma al-Thani said that although only 10,000 foreign visitors were expected to attend the event, organizers "were seeking innovative ways to attract local spectators." Coe said, "[The organizers] are going to do a lot of marketing around it (with) Qatar Airways and hotels. And I've long believed ... that you turn it into a holiday and a destination and you make sure that you get competitive packages." IAAF VP Dahlan al-Hamad said that he hoped innovations to the timetable "would draw a larger local crowd to the Khalifa Stadium." Hamad: "It is our ambition to organize an innovative, creative and exciting event that inspires and engages new fans, new athletes and new audiences and maximizes the full potential of our region's first-ever IAAF World Championships" (AFP, 5/4).
