ITU Multisport World Championships

Townsville secures global sports event for 2021

Up to 8,000 people will descend on Townsville for a global sporting competition in 2021, set to pump more than $16 million into the local economy.

Tourism Industry Development Minister Kate Jones said the ITU Multisport World Championships would be the largest sporting event ever hosted by the city and had been secured through a partnership between Tourism and Events Queensland, Townsville City Council, IRONMAN, Triathlon Australia and Townsville Enterprise.

“This is a welcome announcement for Townsville, which has established a great reputation as a hub for major events,” Ms Jones said.

“The arrival of an estimated 8,000 visitors to the city will be a welcome economic boost and I am proud that the Queensland Government, through Tourism and Events Queensland (TEQ), has such a strong events strategy that is delivering for cities like Townsville.

“In 2019 TEQ’s It’s Live! in Queensland events program is worth $800 million to the state’s economy and we aim to grow that to $1.5b by 2025.

“This major event will be a significant shot in the arm for Townsville’s economy, driving visitation and supporting local jobs.

“This announcement also brings significant legacy benefits to one of the region’s high-profile events, the Townsville Triathlon Festival.

“Organisers will expand the event over two weekends and introduce new race components.

“In 2020 Triathlon Australia has confirmed the inclusion of some National Championship events within the Townsville Triathlon Festival program further cementing Townsville’s position as the place to compete in all forms of triathlon events.

“These changes to build up the Townsville Triathlon Festival will bring increased economic benefit to the city in the two years leading up to this global World Championship event.”

Townsville Mayor Jenny Hill said the city will receive a major economic boost when it hosts the event.

“This global event will showcase Townsville’s natural assets, such as The Strand and Pallarenda, to audiences around the world,” Cr Hill said.

“Hosting such a major international sporting event will ensure thousands of fans and athletes are staying in our hotels, eating in our restaurants and businesses around the city get a boost.

“This will further cement our city’s reputation as the sporting and events capital of North Australia.”

IRONMAN Oceania Managing Director Dave Beeche welcomed the opportunity for the IRONMAN team to be presenting the newest world championship event on the ITU calendar.

“Since the ITU Multisport World Championships debut three years ago it has quickly grown into one of the most popular and diverse events. There is something for every athlete and we look forward to producing a Multisport World Championships that is truly memorable and introducing the City of Townsville to athletes, families and friends from all over the globe.”

Triathlon Australia CEO Miles Stewart said triathlon’s popularity has not waivered and continues to experience growth on a global scale.

“Largely due to the new formats of the sport being offered to cater for a variety of new participants which has been evident in the creation of a separate Multisport World Championships,” Mr Stewart said.

“Australia was a visionary in producing the Multisport event concept nearly 35 years ago, offering a complete weekend of events and the Townsville Triathlon Festival is well supported, and delivered to the highest standard.

“We’re excited to again be hosting another world championship, Australia has previously hosted three Triathlon World Championships and last year the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast, Townsville will continue the strong tradition of attracting international events to Queensland.”

Jamie Fitzpatrick, President, Townsville Triathlon Festival said the Townsville Triathlon Festival already has a well-established reputation on the Australian Triathlon scene.

“This announcement not only benefits Townsville in 2021 but will now be the catalyst for the existing Festival to expand its’ format to include a new “off-road” weekend, making it the biggest Triathlon and Multisport Festival in Australia with 22 different events and race formats across two weekends.

“This expanded format will bring increased economic benefit to the city in the two years leading up to the World Championships and importantly provide a significant platform for the event to continue to grow well beyond 2021.”

Continuing its support of local events, Townsville Enterprise was proud to provide assistance across the bidding process to secure the event in Townsville.

“Townsville Enterprise is thrilled to assist in bringing the ITU Multisport World Championships to Townsville as we continue to cement our region’s reputation as the home of regional Australia’s best live events,” said Townsville Enterprise CEO, Patricia O’Callaghan.

“Staging an event of this size and with such a strong global following is a coup for Townsville North Queensland, and we welcome the significant economic injection projected for local businesses across the two-week event.”

The first International Triathlon Union (ITU) Multisport World Championships were held in Canada in 2017 to consolidate several world championship events including duathlon, aqua bike, cross triathlon, aquathlon and long-distance triathlon disciplines. The 2019 event is being held in Spain and the 2020 event in the Dutch city of Almere.

The 2021 event in Townsville will see five world championship disciplines contested, comprising various male and female race categories for elite, age group and para triathletes in August 2021.

The 2019 Townsville Triathlon Festival will run from Saturday, 17 August to Sunday, 18 August 2019.