The Great North Run (GNR) returns to Tyneside this weekend, with 63,000 runners taking part in the world's biggest half marathon on Sunday.
Saturday's Mini and Junior events on Newcastle's Quayside are in their 40th year and saw 13,000 young people take on courses ranging from 50m (164ft) to 4km (2.5 miles).
Gladiators Alex Gray (Apollo), Emily Steel (Dynamite) and Matty Campbell (Bionic) are ringing Saturday's starters' bell alongside GNR mascot Tyney the Tortoise, while Newcastle captain Dan Burn is Sunday's starter.
Sunday's 13.1-mile (21km) event sees runners and wheelchair users begin in Newcastle, race through Gateshead and South Tyneside before finishing in South Shields.
According to organisers, this year's Mini and Junior events are the biggest in its 40-year history.

#tyneside #junior #south #year

A decision to change the location of an annual winter festival at just over a month's notice has been criticised as "sneaky" by a business group.
The Winter Droving has been held in Penrith for more than a decade, but this year the live music, outdoor performances and twilight procession will take place 20 miles away in Carlisle on 24 October.
Eden Arts director Adrian Lochhead said organisers had been working "until the last minute" to keep the event in Penrith but it had not been possible for financial reasons.
However, Penrith Business Improvement District (Bid) accused Eden Arts of "sneakily organising" the move for some time, while the local council said it was "disappointed" at the news.
Lochhead told BBC Radio **** bria the announcement did not happen earlier because they were "still trying" to stay in Penrith, but "it was becoming more and more impossible".

#eden #arts #carlisle #october

Tens of thousands of people have flocked to the coast for a kite festival in Lancashire.
The opening day of the annual three-day St Annes International Kite Festival was disrupted by 40mph winds on Friday.
However, the wind dropped for the last two days of what organisers say is the UK's biggest kite festival.
The skies have been awash with displays from more than 200 kite fliers from all over the world, including Australia and the US, and a new art trail bringing shop windows to life with kite design created by local school children.
The free event is a partnership between Fylde Council and kite fliers SmileFactor10, with support from St Annes Town Council.

#festival #annes #Lancashire #however

A new adventure and enduro festival is set to join the Manx sporting calendar this weekend, led by five-time world enduro champion David Knight.
The Manxman has personally curated the routes, drawing on trails he rode throughout his career, including some he used to train for his biggest championship wins.
Organisers said the selection includes historic and lesser-known trails, and is suitable for riders of different experience levels.
"The Isle of Man's terrain is incredible and unlike anywhere else in the world," Knight said.
David Knight is a five-time world enduro champion [BBC]

#World #manxman

Organisers of a music festival say they are "truly sorry" for cancelling the event which had already been postponed.
Existance Festival was due to take place at Boldridge Farm in Tetbury, Gloucestershire from 3-6 September after being postponed in June due to "compliance issues".
The festival was given the green light in August but organisers said it would not go ahead because of several issues, including the "very late" licence approval.
In a post on social media last week, the team behind Existance Festival said it would instead take place between 10-13 June 2027.
Move to support rather than punish absent pupils

#june

Three-time major champion Stan Wawrinka felt the love at the US Open after being given an emotional send-off following the final Grand Slam match of his career.
The 41-year-old Swiss is retiring at the end of the season and looked close to tears as he received a rapturous reception after a straight-set defeat by Italy's Matteo Berrettini.
Wawrinka, who won the US Open in 2016, was initially overlooked by tournament organisers for a wildcard, but was given a last-minute reprieve following American recipient Patrick Kypson's withdrawal.
The belated decision can be considered well justified given the thousands who packed into the 8,000-capacity Grandstand court at Flushing Meadows.
Wawrinka made heart gestures with his fingers, and put his hand on his heart, at the end of an enjoyable contest to illustrate his appreciation.

#wawrinka #following

A Rotherham school has welcomed a local world champion boxer to launch its boxing scholarship programme.
Maltby Academy Trust said it was "incredibly proud" of the programme, which offers "elite-level coaching with high-quality education" for 16 to 19 year-olds.
Sheffield's Dalton Smith, the current World Boxing Council (WBC) super-lightweight **** le holder, joined other fighters from the region for a workout at the launch event, and shared stories from his career.
Smith hailed the programme, saying: "You've got the exercise, a healthy routine and a positive way of dealing with things, especially with mental health being such a big part of society now."
Organisers said the scholarship aimed to keep young people in education while learning boxing skills - with the potential to develop careers in coaching.

#smith #Education

The organisers of Sydney Marathon have laughed off a mistake which saw a German stadium etched on to medals for participants, saying "we're not going to run from it".
Questions arose after the event's official social media account unveiled the design of this year's medal earlier in the week, which had mistakenly etched Allianz Arena, based in the German city of Munich, instead of Sydney's Allianz Stadium.
A spokesperson for the Sydney Marathon told the BBC: "A little too much international flavour has found its way onto the back of the finishers medal, with an incorrect depiction of the stadium."
It was "an unfortunate error," they added.
The Munich arena (bottom) appears to feature on the medal instead of the Sydney landmark (above) [Getty Images]

#sydney #arena #etched

The organisers of the Edmonton Marathon have admitted the course measured more than half a kilometre too long for the 2026 edition.
The annual event in Alberta, Canada is often used as a qualifier for the prestigious Boston Marathon.
But a number of frustrated runners voiced concerns online after the race, noting that the distance on their GPS running watches was over 26.22 miles.
Organisers initially dismissed complaints but in a statement on Wednesday, they admitted an extra 674.7 metres (0.41 miles) was mistakenly added to the course.
Race director Tom Keogh said: "We do not take this lightly. We hosted the nation's best athletes and their finishing times did not truly reflect their amazing performances."

#course #Edmonton #alberta

A competitor has died following a crash involving two riders during qualifying for the Manx Grand Prix on the Isle of Man.
The session was red-flagged at about 18:50 BST following the incident at Cruickshanks, in Ramsey, on the opening lap of Tuesday evening's session.
Organisers said the other competitor involved had suffered minor injuries and was being treated at the island's main hospital, ******* le's. The riders have not been named.
The road between Ramsey Bus Station and Lheaney Road in Ramsey remained closed for more than three hours after the crash.
In a statement, organisers said: "It's with profound sadness that the Manx Grand Prix Races confirms that one competitor sustained fatal injuries.

#riders

Riders are risking their lives in races where organisers battle huge costs, and cycling's world governing body the UCI "cannot keep traffic off the roads", according to former rider and team boss Jonathan Vaughters.
Britain's Fin Tarling, 19, died during the Volta a Portugal on Friday following a high-speed collision with a van which had strayed on to the closed road.
A Go Fund Me page to promote young cycling talent has been set up in memory of Tarling, who rode for the NSN Cycling Development Team and was brother to Netcompany-Ineos' Josh Tarling.
Vaughters, who is co-founder and boss of the EF Education-Easypost World Tour team told BBC Sport: "What I'm really not enjoying is this sentiment that's coming from very powerful people in cycling, that says: 'What can you do? Sometimes cars just end up on the road - this is just part of doing competitive sport on the open road.' That is not true. This is preventable."
He added: "People look at the Tour de France and see a bunch of riders going through the beautiful French countryside, but fundamentally it's a very dangerous sport. From the start of my career I can't tell you how many people we've lost."

#Cycling

Roads on the Isle of Man are set to close twice on Wednesday for qualifying in the Manx Grand Prix and Classic TT.
Organisers have confirmed that a daytime contingency session will be used to make up for the cancellation of Monday's evening session due to rain.
It follows disruption to the second half of Sunday's opening session due to a red flag incident and incoming showers.
Although there had been doubt over Tuesday evening's qualifying, clerk of the course Gary Thompson said the latest weather forecast indicated conditions would be "suitable", however he warned of "a chance" of rain disruption" later in the evening.
The use of Wednesday's contingency will see road around the 37.7 mile (61km) Mountain Course close at 12:30 BST until no later than 17:00.

#close #Rain #later #roads

The first Esports Nations Cup (ENC), set to be held in Saudi Arabia later this year, has been delayed until 2027.
The competitive video gaming event, which brings together players representing different countries and global territories, was set to take place in Riyadh this November.
But organisers the Esports Foundation announced they had postponed it by 12 months due to the "wider regional situation" in the Middle East, where the USA's war with Iran continues.
The foundation already relocated their Esports World Cup (EWC) event to Paris in July this year due to the ongoing conflict.
The ENC was due to debut in the Saudi capital this year to "introduce national representation" to the global esports calendar.

#year

Formula 1 says farewell to the Dutch Grand Prix this weekend with the final event at Zandvoort before it drops off the calendar.
Orange smoke has hung in the air of the seaside venue since it returned to the schedule in 2021 after a 36-year absence, with sell-out crowds overwhelmingly supporting Red Bull's Max Verstappen.
Despite its popularity, organisers have not been able to make the event work financially and have decided not to continue hosting F1.
Before Zandvoort signs off, we take a look back at a selection of images from the Dutch Grand Prix, which was first run as an F1 event in 1952.
Jim Clark (left), Graham Hill (centre) and Bruce McLaren lead the field away at the start in 1963 [Getty Images]

#formula #despite

Medal ceremonies at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham were postponed on Saturday evening and transport was suspended after a man was arrested on suspicion of fraud, leaving fans and athletes stranded at Alexander Stadium.
Athletes started queuing for official transport at 10.15pm but many did not arrive back at their hotels until 12.45am on Sunday, with some set to compete again on Sunday night.
Britain's triple gold medallist Amy Hunt was among those caught up in the chaos, with her quest for a quartet of European **** les continuing in the mixed 4x100m relay on the final day of the event.
Tournament organisers said transport operations had returned to normal in the early hours of Sunday.
A statement from Birmingham 2026 read: "Birmingham 2026 can confirm that transport operations have returned to normal following a police incident on Saturday evening.

#sunday #saturday #athletes #returned

Nearly 10,000 seats were empty at Birmingham's Alexander Stadium for the European Athletics Championships on Monday evening.
A crowd of 13,623 watched as Britain's 24-year-old sprinter Amy Hunt stormed to her first senior international **** le, in a stadium that has a capacity of 23,000.
Athletics supporters blamed ticket prices, with some describing them as "extortionate", while BBC commentator Steve Cram commented that spectator numbers were a "little disappointing".
But Birmingham 2026 organisers said they were "delighted" with ticket sales, which have "far surpassed" their targets with "Friday, Saturday and Sunday evening sessions approaching sell-out, with several other sessions close to capacity".
On Monday, Category A tickets for the home straight cost £150 with no concessions for juniors.

#stadium #evening

More than 1,500 of Europe's best athletes are set to descend on Birmingham this month as the city hosts the European Athletics Championships.
The renovated Alexander Stadium will welcome competitors from about 50 countries for seven days.
Organisers have promised "elite performances, homegrown heroes and edge-of-your-seat finals".
Here is everything you need to know.
The championships will take place at Alexander Stadium in Perry Barr, Birmingham.

#birmingham #alexander #organisers #perry

A rally event in Aberdeenshire will give a "good insight" of what to expect when the World Rally Championship (WRC) comes to the region next year, according to organisers.
The Grampian Forest Rally starts in Banchory on Friday and forms part of the British Championship.
It has also attracted some drivers from the WRC, including current points leader Elfyn Evans, who will be keen to try and get a feel for what could lie in store next year, with stages still to be announced.
WRC stages will be held in Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire, and Moray for three years, at a cost of £1m per year but it is thought the economic benefits could run to tens of millions of pounds.
More stories from North East Scotland, Orkney and Shetland

#stages

Carlos Alcaraz's comeback has been delayed after the Spaniard withdrew from the Cincinnati Open due to an "ongoing" wrist injury.
The seven-time grand slam champion has been sidelined since suffering the problem during the Barcelona Open, missing the defence of his French Open ****** le and Wimbledon.
In the lead-up to the tournament, Alcaraz posted videos of himself making a tentative return to the court.
But on Tuesday, organisers announced on X that the 2025 champion would be missing the tournament: "Carlos Alcaraz has withdrawn from the Cincinnati Open.
"Wishing all the best to our 2025 champion in his recovery process. Can't wait to welcome you next year!"

#carlos #alcaraz

LIV Golf players are still awaiting concrete news concerning the plans for the Team Championship later in the season, as well as the likelihood of new investors coming in.
Time seems to be running out for LIV to save itself. There are just three events remaining of this season, with the players in New York this week for the latest tournament.
But of course, there are serious doubts over whether the Team Championship will even take place at the end of the month.
Several LIV players recently expressed their belief that the Team Championship will be postponed.
LIV Golf is yet to make an announcement confirming the decision, but Kevin Kisner revealed that he had heard that organisers had not even begun to build the infrastructure required to host an event.

#even #york #several

A bowler from tiny Norfolk Island in the South Pacific has won a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games despite a complete lack of indoor facilities in her homeland.
Shae Wilson's chances of winning only the island's third medal ever at the Games appeared to have evaporated after organisers announced that the lawn bowls event would be moved inside for the first time.
Bowlers on the island – best known as the place where descendants of the Bounty mutineers resettled in 1856 – must swerve shots around the potholes on two grass greens in its de facto capital, Burnt Pine.
But 27-year-old Wilson, playing at her third Games, mastered the sleek Glasgow carpet to such an extent that she sunk reigning world champion Emma Firyana Saroji of Malaysia on Sunday to finally earn a place on the podium.
"It's crazy to think I've come here and won a medal," Wilson told the Press ***** ociation. "Back home we have one club with two grass greens. It's a struggle to get green-keepers at times and there are a few potholes on the way.

#norfolk

World Rally Championship organisers have red flagged stage 17 at Rally Finland after Sebastien Ogier suffered a high-speed crash from the lead.
The reigning world champion and co-driver Julien Ingrassia were heading towards the end of stage 17 when their Toyota GR Yaris Rally 1 car fired off the road at speed. The car was pitched into a series of rolls heading towards the trees.
Toyota has confirmed that Ogier and Ingrassia exited the car unassisted and are conscious, but will be transported to hospital for further checks.
"Both driver and co-driver were able to get out of the car unassisted. They are both conscious and generally OK, and will be transported to hospital for further checks. The team will provide further updates in due course," read a statement from the Toyota Gazoo Racing.
A statement from the FIA added: "During SS17 'Västilä' at WRC Rally Finland, the crew of car #1 , Sébastien Ogier and Julien Ingrassia, were involved in a high-impact accident.

#ingrassia #finland

The 2026 Tour de France will meet the famous 21 hairpins of Alpe d’Huez on Friday, in the first of two back-to-back days scaling the famous peak. But it is the second journey, up the lesser travelled Col de Sarenne, which has provoked protest, a petition and criticism of race organisers.
The route for this year’s Tour was announced at a Paris ceremony last October. Saturday’s stage 20 immediately stood out, partly as a rare double ascent of Alpe d’Huez, perhaps the most famous mountain in Tour de France lore; and partly because the stage is brutal in its own right. It features 5,000m of elevation gain over four Tour behemoths: the Croix de Fer, the Col du Telegraphe, Col du Galibier, and finally the Col de Sarenne – the eastern back road up the Alpe – before an undulating final 14km to the finish, via the final four hairpins of the traditional route.
The Col de Sarenne is an unusual pass for the Tour to tackle. This is the first time it has been used as an ascent, after it was used once as a descent in 2013. The debate back then was about rider safety, with sheer drops either side of the narrow, uneven path near the top, and hay bales were hastily planted along the road’s edge to protect a disgruntled peloton.
Ahead of this year’s return to the Col de Sarenne, environmentalists have led protests against race organiser ASO and its decision to send the world’s biggest bike race over the Sarenne pass in the Ferrand Valley, part of Ecrins National Park and an ecologically sensitive area.
A petition which garnered more than 15,000 signatures called for the stage to be re-routed away from the “beautiful and wild” area, which the petition stresses is home to numerous animals including stoats, marmots, foxes, chamois, eagles, bearded vultures, ptarmigan, rock partridges and the rare black grouse, whose chicks hatch in July.

#france #huez

The Gran Fondo Isle of Man returns this weekend with a new off-road format, marking the biggest change in the event's 10-year history.
Taking place on Saturday and Sunday, the cycling festival has moved away from its traditional road route in favour of a multi-surface challenge featuring gravel tracks, green lanes, forest trails and historical railway lines.
Organisers said the redesigned course had been created to reflect the Island's landscape and the growing popularity of gravel cycling, while remaining true to the event's focus on endurance and participation.
The flagship Gran Fondo Gravel and Gran Fondo XC MTB races take place on Sunday, with riders setting off from Ramsey at 09:30 BST before finishing about 60 miles (100km) later in Port Erin.
The point-to-point route takes competitors to the island's northern tip before heading south through farmland, wetlands, moorland, forests and coastal scenery.

#Cycling #route

The Jaffna Kings will continue their Lanka Premier League (LPL) 2026 campaign despite their franchise rights being terminated by Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) and tournament organiser Innovative Production Group (IPG) over financial and contractual breaches. The decision, announced on Thursday, sees all franchise rights revert to IPG, which, alongside SLC, has ******* umed complete operational control of the four-time champions to ensure the tournament proceeds without disruption.
According to SLC and IPG, the franchise owners failed to fulfil their financial obligations under the franchise agreement. The termination comes in the middle of the tournament following a series of controversies surrounding the ownership group, Sports Commune.

Co-owner Manjot Kalra was arrested over corruption-related allegations, while another owner, Mayank Goel, has become unreachable. The ownership group also allegedly failed to pay player and staff salaries and mismanaged sponsor funds, leading to the cancellation of the franchise agreement.

As a result, IPG and SLC have taken direct control of the team's operations. Despite the ownership shake-up, the Jaffna Kings will continue under the same name with their existing squad, coaching staff and support personnel.
IPG CEO Anil Mohan stressed that safeguarding the tournament's integrity remained the organisers' top priority.

"While this was a difficult decision, our priority has always been to protect the integrity of the Lanka Premier League and ensure complete stability for our players, coaches, partners and fans. Together with Sri Lanka Cricket, we have acted swiftly to ensure the Jaffna Kings continue to participate in the tournament without disruption. We want to ******* ure everyone that all operational matters, including player contracts, staff commitments and team logistics, are being managed seamlessly. The sixth edition of the LPL will proceed as planned, and we remain fully committed to delivering another successful and world-class tournament," Anil Mohan said.

On the field, the Bhanuka Rajapaksa-led Jaffna Kings have made a positive start to their campaign, winning two of their first three matches. The sixth edition of the Lanka Premier League began on July 17 and is scheduled to conclude on August 8.

#lanka #jaffna #kings #league

By Iain Withers
FARNBOROUGH, England, July 20 (Reuters) - Private investors are needed to funnel cash into European defence companies to plug the gap left by cash-strapped ‌governments, but too often bottlenecks and barriers are discouraging investment, senior finance executives ‌told the Farnborough Airshow on Monday.
"Public spending will not be enough, and we do need to mobilise private capital at scale," Cathal Deasy, global co-head of investment banking at British bank Barclays, told delegates, adding national governments needed to act faster and provide more clarity.
Bankers and investors are attending the annual aerospace event in record numbers this year, according to the event organisers, in ‌part drawn by the prospect of ⁠cashing in on a global boom in defence investing amid rising geopolitical tensions.
However, investor sentiment has cooled recently, reflected in weaker defence firm ⁠stock prices, while Franco-German defence group KNDS this month put on hold its stock market listing until conditions improve.

The half-time break in Sunday's World Cup final is expected to last between 20 and 25 minutes.
An 11-minute Super Bowl-style show, co-headlined by Madonna, Shakira and K-pop boy band BTS, will take place during the interval at New York New Jersey Stadium.
While sources within World Cup organisers Fifa suggest the break will be around 20 minutes, it is understood that one option is for the normal 15-minute half-time break and then the planned 11-minute show.
The laws of the game, governed by Ifab (the International Football **** ociation Board), state that players are entitled to a half-time break "not exceeding 15 minutes".
Half-time of last year's Club World Cup final, also organised by Fifa and held in New Jersey, lasted a total of 24 minutes due to a performance featuring Coldplay, J Balvin, Doja Cat, Tems and Emmanuel Kelly.

The opening match of next season's Big Bash League will take place in India on 12 December.
The game between Melbourne Renegades and defending champions Perth Scorchers in Chennai will make Australia's Twenty20 competition the first foreign franchise league to play in India.
"I am excited to expand co-operation with India on sport, which not only brings joy to Australians but boosts trade, tourism and investment," Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on the final day of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Australia.
Australian players are in high demand in the Indian Premier League and organisers of the BBL, which started in 2011–12, are looking to tap into cricket's most lucrative market.
Cricket Australia reported a net deficit of A$11.3m (£5.8m) for 2024-25 despite hosting the lucrative Border-Gavaskar Test series against India.

The Evian Championship tees off by the lake in Evian on Thursday with Nelly Korda chasing a third women's major of the season and Grace Kim returning to the scene of her dramatic win last year.
Kim, who beat Jeeno Thitikul on the second playoff hole last year, said on Wednesday a first major **** le had given her added self-confidence.
"You know, golf can really humble you quite quickly, so in the times where it does get tough I think I do handle myself a lot better," the 25-year-old Korean-Australian told reporters.
Last year Kim chipped in from under a tree off the 18th green to save herself on the first playoff hole. Organisers have put in a little blue plaque to commemorate the shot.
"I saw it for the first time yesterday and it was really cool," she said.

Tour de France fans have been urged not to attend the end of the third stage because of wildfires in the south of France.
Monday's mountain stage will begin in Granollers, Spain, and conclude within 60 kilometres (37.3 miles) of some of the worst of the fires across the border in Les Angles.
While the 195.9km route is not expected to change, Tour organisers have asked fans and unessential personnel to stay away from the final 40km.
"An exceptional fire calls for exceptional measures for the Tour," said race director Christian Prudhomme.
"We invite the public not to come to the edge of the race or to the finish site."