French pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, pictured competing at the 2016 Paris Diamond League in the Stade de France, has already committed to competing in this year's event ©Getty Images

Paris' Diamond League meeting is due to take place at the 20,000 capacity Stade Charléty rather than the Stade de France this year in order to reduce costs.

Pole vaulter Renaud Lavillenie and sprinter Christophe Lemaitre are among those to have already committed to competing in the revamped event.

The event, scheduled for July 1, is being billed as a way for athletics to make a "major comeback at the very heart of the capital".

According to an article published on the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) website, it will show a "retro atmosphere and a vintage touch" while also helping to form a "unique and promising journey of discovery" for the Diamond League.

But the move away from the Stade de France marks the end of 17 years of annual athletics events being held in the French national stadium.

French Athletics Federation general manager Julien Mauriat announced last year that they were moving due to the "incomprehensible" costs of hiring the Stade de France.

They had repeatedly struggled to fill by more than half the 80,000 capacity venue, which is due to host ceremonies and athletics competitions should Paris be awarded the 2024 Summer Olympic and Paralympic Games. 

The Stade Charléty is the former home of the Stade Français rugby team ©Getty Images
The Stade Charléty is the former home of the Stade Français rugby team ©Getty Images

Mauriat claims the €800,000 (£678,000/$849,000) hiring costs will now be spent on improving the quality of the new event.

"In Charléty, athletics feels quite at home in what is a structure designed and built especially for the sport," the IAAF article added.

"Its stands accommodate some 20,000 fans and with them comes the assurance of a public audience that is close to the action, combined with a certainty among the athletes that they will be able to share their sporting journey with their fans."

As well as Lavillenie and Lemaitre, other home athletes already committed to competing in July including Kévin Mayer and Dmitri Bascou, the respective Olympic silver medallist in the decathlon and bronze medallist in the 110 metres hurdles. 

The event will be a major preparatory meet before August's World Championships in London. 

The Stade Charléty was the temporary home of rugby union club Stade Français from 2010 until 2013.

Its athletics track hosted the 1994 and 2002 IAAF Grand Prix Final and the 2003 European Summer Youth Olympic Festival.

It is the current home of Ligue 2 football side Paris FC.