They do face competition from the Qatari capital Doha, who have put in a joint bid for the 2015 IPC World Athletics Championships, as well as the 2017 competition.

But the IPC look set to favour London for 2017 after being hugely impressed with the 2012 Paralympic athletics competition this summer, which saw an unprecedented 1,185,976 tickets sold.

The move would leave Doha as the overwhelming favourites for 2015, although announcement will not be made until earlier next year as all the agreements are not yet in place.


Mayor of London Boris Johnson officially launched the city's bid for the 2017 IPC World Athletics Championships ahead of the deadline last month and said he was confident of getting the event.

"The huge appetite for tickets to the 2012 Games this summer shows the level of excitement Paralympic sport can generate, and forever changed the way we think about disabled sport," said Johnson.

"The 2017 IPC World Championships present a fantastic opportunity for us to build on that phenomenal surge of enthusiasm, and welcome back some of the world's greatest sportsmen and women to the Olympic Stadium."

London's plan is to host the IPC competition at the Olympic Stadium in July 2017, just a month before it is due to stage the IAAF World Athletics Championships.

London's bid is largely helped by the fact that UK Athletes chairman Ed Warner is also the chairman of the IPC Athletics Sport Technical Committee and he is said to be playing a key role in the final stages of the bid.

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