Copenhagen is aiming to stage the second edition of the World Athletics Road Running Championships in 2026 ©CPH Half

Copenhagen has launched a bid to stage the 2026 World Athletics Road Running Championships after the Danish city's half marathon sold out.

Organisers of the "CPH Half" have announced that a total of 25,000 people have registered to take part in the event, scheduled to be held in September.

It comes after Denmark’s Royal Run - a national running event staged across five cities, including Copenhagen - attracted more than 93,000 participants in May.

Sport Event Denmark has now revealed that Copenhagen has entered the race to secure the hosting rights for the World Athletes Road Running Championships in three years’ time.

"With the World Athletics Road Running Championships, we plan to cook up all the experiences and spice it even more with innovative side events and running events for all - from the elite to the everyday jogger," said Lars Lundov, chief executive of Sport Event Denmark.

Denmark has experience of hosting major athletics competition having held the 2014 World Half Marathon Championships and the 2019 World Athletics Cross-Country Championships.

"I would say that with the World Half Marathon Championships in 2014 we really experienced how an elite event could get a boost combined with a mass participation race," said Lundov.

This year's CPH Half is sold out after 25,000 people registered to participate ©CPH Half
This year's CPH Half is sold out after 25,000 people registered to participate ©CPH Half

"We were blown away by the massive interest in signing up for the event.

"It turned out that recreational participants also carried the dream of becoming a hero - just for one day.

"Since then, we have together with federations, organisers and host cities developed our strategies of hosting and I’m proud to say, that we unite people through sporting events."

The inaugural edition of the World Athletics Road Running Championships is set to be held in Latvian capital Riga on October 1.

The event is set to include the World Athletics Half Marathon Championships which was last staged in 2020 as well as races over five kilometres and a mile.

Copenhagen’s plan to host the event in 2026 includes holding a week-long programme featuring free fun runs and a global running conference.

Sparta, which helps to organise the CPH Half, claims that bidding for the World Athletics Road Running Championships "makes perfect sense".

"Together with the City of Copenhagen and Sport Event Denmark we will build on the experience from 2014 and onwards," said Dorte Vibjerg, chief executive of Sparta.

"The knowledge bank is huge and the Danes´ strong tradition for running is a huge advantage for our set-up."