Townsville City Council welcomes the announcement of the dates for the 2021 ITU Multisport World Championships.
The fifth ITU Multisport World Championships will be held from Friday 6 August to Sunday 15 August 2021 and will include a duathlon, a triathlon, an aquathon and a long-distance triathlon.
Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said Council was proud to partner with Tourism and Events Queensland, IRONMAN Group Oceania, Triathlon Australia and Townsville Enterprise to bring this event to the city.
"The ITU Multisport World Championships is a huge event involving athletes from across the country and overseas who will all converge on Townsville for almost two weeks," Cr Hill said.
"This is an international event that has been previously held in Canada, Denmark and Spain, so to be able to host it right here in Townsville is a great opportunity for the city."
Cr Hill said the announcement cemented Townsville's standing as a premier sporting destination.
"It's expected Townsville will play host to up to 8,000 athletes competing for world titles, which is a huge boost for our city," Cr Hill said.
"Townsville is the sports, arts and culture capital of Northern Australia and high profile events like the ITU World Championships put us on the world stage."
Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the event was expected to pump $16 million into the Townsville economy.
"More than 8,000 athletes and supporters will descend on Townsville in August 2021 and more visitors means more local jobs in the tourism sector," Ms Jones said.
"The Queensland Government supports events such as these because they are a platform to showcase our unique tourism experiences as well as driving visitation, generating economic benefit and supporting local jobs."
ITU President and IOC member Marisol Casado said it was a great pleasure to return to Australia for one of the ITU's greatest events.
"I am one hundred per cent convinced that with the incredible set-up of Townsville, the love and support for triathlon in all the region and the fantastic team that is delivering the event, the 2021 ITU Multisport World Championships will be one for the history books," she said.
The 2021 ITU Multisport Championships, Townsville is supported by the Queensland Government through Tourism and Events Queensland and features on the It's Live! in Queensland events calendar, worth $880m to the state's economy in 2020.
