Travel chaos hits Birmingham athletics after empty seats, high prices

Organizers of the European Athletics Championships were hoping for a final day without problems on Sunday after the Birmingham event was again struck by negative headlines. Transport away from the Alexander Stadium was suspended after events finished on Saturday and some medal ceremonies had to be postponed until Sunday. A statement from organizers said "necessary security measures" were carried out while police arrested a man on suspicion of fraud. "The safety and wellbeing of our spectators, athletes, workforce and the wider Championships family will always be our first priority," the statement added. "We recognise that the delays presented challenges for those affected and would like to thank everyone for their patience, understanding and cooperation throughout the evening." The problems followed a championships dominated by talk of huge swathes of empty seats early in the seven-day event and heavy criticism from spectators who have attended over high ticket and food prices. The issues in England's second city prompted World Athletics president Sebastian Coe to attempt to play down speculation they could mar London’s bid to host the 2029 World Championships.