Haile Gebrselassie (ETH) (© Getty Images)
Following on from last week’s announcement that Ethiopia’s World 5000m and 10,000m record holder Haile Gebrselassie will compete over the former distance at this year’s Golden Gala – IAAF Golden League – meeting on Friday 11 July, the organisers have also confirmed that the spectator seating areas in the giant Stadio Olimpico will be reconfigured for the event.
The capacity of the Olympic Stadium will be reduced from 86,000 seats to approximately 50,000 spectators, by closing and decorating the two bends, which should help to re-emphasise the crowd which the Golden Gala annually attracts but which has tended to be lost in such a vast arena, especially on TV.
The Golden Gala is also celebrating the re-signing of a main sponsor for the meeting, ‘Peroni’ - Italy’s most popular beer - who will be title sponsor for the second year.
Accompanying this sponsorship, the government of Regione Lazio, the county in which Rome is situated, have arranged specially priced transport to further encourage athletics fans to attend the meeting from the 378 smaller towns within its territory.
Full provisional start lists for the meeting will be announced at an official Golden Gala press conference at CONI Honour's Hall on 25 June.
IAAF