The United Kingdom was awarded a number of major international sporting events during the 2010s leading to an idea of a 'Golden Decade' in British sport. The idea of the golden decade has been discussed in many newspapers and has been mentioned by former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Lord Coe.
Timeline of events 2010 14–18 April – 2010 European Badminton Championships at the Manchester Arena in Manchester
7–17 July – 2010 Wheelchair Basketball World Championship at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham
15–24 July – 2010 World Lacrosse Championship at the University of Manchester in Manchester
17 July – Completion of the 2009–10 Clipper Round the World Yacht Race in Kingston upon Hull
20 August – 5 September – Women's Rugby World Cup in London
1–4 October – Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor Resort in Newport
21–28 November – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2011 20–21 May – Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup Finals in at the Cardiff City Stadium and Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
26 May – Women's Champions League Final at Craven Cottage in London
28 May – Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium in London
3–7 August – International Children's Games in Lanarkshire
8–14 August – BWF World Championships at Wembley Arena in London
17–20 November – 2011 Trampoline World Championships at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham
20–27 November – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2012 20–26 February – 2012 FINA Diving World Cup at the London Aquatics Centre in London
3–6 May – 2012 European Taekwondo Championships at SportCity in Manchester
18–19 May – Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup Finals at the Twickenham Stoop and Twickenham Stadium in London
27 July – 12 August – Summer Olympics in London
29 August – 9 September – Summer Paralympics in London
16–18 November – UCI Track Cycling World Cup at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow
November – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2013 21 April – IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in London
10–12 May – 2013 EuroLeague Final Four at The O2 Arena in London
23 May – 2013 UEFA Women's Champions League Final at Stamford Bridge in London
25 May – 2013 UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium in London
6–23 June – 2013 ICC Champions Trophy at The Oval, Edgbaston and Cardiff
21–23 June – 2013 World Rowing Cup at Eton Dorney in Windsor
1–10 August – 2013 World Police and Fire Games in Belfast
3–4 August – Prudential Ride London, Grand Prix, London-Surrey 100 & London-Surrey Classic
7–11 August – UCI Juniors Track World Championships at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome in Glasgow
1 September – Beginning of the Clipper Round the World Yacht Race at St Katharine Docks in London
11–15 September – ITU World Triathlon Series Final at Hyde Park in London
26 October – 30 November – Rugby League World Cup in England and Wales
1–3 November – UCI Track Cycling World Cup at the Manchester Velodrome in Manchester
4–11 November – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2014 13 April – IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in London
23–24 May – Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup Finals at Cardiff Arms Park and the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
26–29 June World Corporate Games Liverpool presented by the International festival of Business. Delivered at multiple sporting venues across the Liverpool and City region and St George's Hall
5–7 July – Le Grand Depart, 2014 Tour de France in Yorkshire, Cambridge and London
24 July – 3 August – Commonwealth Games in Glasgow
18–23 August – IPC Athletics European Championships at Swansea University
10–14 September – Invictus Games London 2014 at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
26–28 September – Ryder Cup at Gleneagles
9–16 November – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
26–30 November – NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London
2015 26 April – IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in London
16–19 April – European Judo Championships in Glasgow
1–2 May – European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup Finals at the Twickenham Stoop and Twickenham Stadium in London
19–25 July – 2015 IPC Swimming World Championships at Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow
31 July – 8 August – World Orienteering Championships in Inverness
1 – 30 August 2015 – EuroHockey Nations Championship at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London
28 August – 6 September – European Wheelchair Basketball Championship 2015
18 September – 31 October – Rugby World Cup in England
15–20 September – ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships at Lee Valley White Water Centre in London
23 October – 1 November – World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow
26–30 November – Wheelchair Tennis Masters at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London
2–6 December – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2016 2–6 March – 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships at the London Velodrome in London
24 April – IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in LondonIPC Marathon World Cup to continue in London until 2017: http://www.paralympic.org/news/ipc-marathon-world-cup-continue-london-until-2017
9–22 May – 2016 LEN European Aquatics Championships at the London Aquatics Centre in London
18–26 June – Women's Hockey Champions Trophy at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London –
7–25 June – 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship in Greater Manchester
13–20 November – ATP World Tour Finals at The O2 Arena in London
Dates to be confirmed – Wheelchair Tennis Masters at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London
2017 April (dates to be confirmed) – IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup in London
12 and 13 May – 2017 European Rugby Challenge Cup Final and 2017 European Rugby Champions Cup Final at Murrayfield in Edinburgh
1–18 June – 2017 ICC Champions Trophy in England and Wales
3 June - 2017 UEFA Champions League final at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
13–22 July – 2017 Women's Lacrosse World Cup at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford
14–23 July – 2017 World Para Athletics Championships at the Olympic Stadium in London
July (dates to be confirmed) – Men's Hockey World League Semi-Final 2 at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London
5–13 August – 2017 IAAF Athletics World Championships at the Olympic Stadium in London
8–25 August – 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup in Dublin and Belfast – Co-hosted
12–19 November – 2017 ATP Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2018 4–20 May – 2018 UEFA European Under-17 Championship
14–15 July – Inaugural Athletics World Cup
7–21 July – Women's Hockey World Cup at Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre in London
11–18 November – 2018 ATP Finals at The O2 Arena in London
2019 10 and 11 May – 2019 European Rugby Challenge Cup Final and 2019 European Rugby Champions Cup Final at St James' Park in Newcastle
30 May – 14 July – 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup in England and Wales
12–21 July – 2019 Netball World Cup in Liverpool.
13–15 September – 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles near Auchterarder, Scotland
21–29 September – 2019 UCI Road World Championships in Yorkshire
November (dates TBA) – 2019 ATP Finals at The O2 Arena in London
Events hosted
2009–2020 ATP Finals The ATP Finals, which ends the ATP Tour season in men's tennis, has been hosted at The O2 Arena in London since 2009. The hosting contract currently runs through the 2020 edition.
2010 World Lacrosse Championships Manchester hosted the world's biggest lacrosse event in July 2010. It was the third edition of the World Lacrosse Championships held in England, with Manchester hosting the 1994 tournament and Stockport hosting in 1978. The event took place at the University of Manchester, on the same campus used for the athletes' village at the 2002 Commonwealth Games.
2010 Women's Rugby World Cup The International Rugby Board, now known as World Rugby, which governs rugby union, announced in September 2008 that the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup would be held in London. The event was held in late August and early September. All matches took place at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford, except for the semi-finals, third-place match, and final, which were held at the Twickenham Stoop.
2010 Ryder Cup The 2010 Ryder Cup was held at the Celtic Manor Resort Hotel in Newport, South Wales. Originally scheduled for 1–3 October, it was extended to 4 October due to delays caused by heavy rains.
2011 European Rugby Challenge Cup and European Rugby Champions Cup Millennium Stadium hosted the 2011 Heineken Cup Final on 21 May. This was the fourth time that the Cardiff venue, the home of Welsh rugby union, hosted this event. The day before, the city also hosted the final of the second-tier Amlin Challenge Cup at Cardiff City Stadium.
2011 Women's Champions League and Champions League Finals Wembley Stadium hosted the 2011 UEFA Champions League Final on 28 May. This was the first time the current Wembley had hosted the event; the original Wembley Stadium had hosted the final five times. Including two finals at Hampden Park in Glasgow and one at Old Trafford in Manchester, this was the ninth time that Britain had hosted the European Cup/Champions League final.
As a part of its successful bid, London was also awarded the 2011 UEFA Women's Champions League Final, which was held on 26 May at Craven Cottage. It was the first time Britain had hosted the final of the women's event.
2011 International Children's Games
The International Children's Games is the world's largest international multi-sport youth event, with nearly 2,000 athletes, coaches and officials from over 70 countries taking part. The event is informally referred to as the 'Mini-Olympics'. Lanarkshire won the unanimous backing of the ICG Committee for hosting rights to the 2011 Games, beating strong competition from Singapore and Daegu. Scotland's First Minister Alex Salmond spoke to the committee in a video message, pointing out that the awarding of the 2011 Games to Lanarkshire would be a major boost to the local area and informing them that the entire nation was supporting the bid. One of the prime venues was Strathclyde Country Park, which is also an official 2014 Commonwealth Games venue. Other venues included the new £29m sports facility at Ravenscraig, the Historic Scotland Category A listed Dollan Baths and the Airdrie Lesiure Centre.
2012 Amlin Challenge Cup and Heineken Cup Finals Twickenham, home to both the England national rugby union team and England's national governing body for the sport, hosted the 2012 Heineken Cup Final on 19 May. As with Millennium Stadium the year before, this was the fourth final for Twickenham. The adjacent Twickenham Stoop hosted the Amlin Challenge Cup final on the day before the Heineken Cup Final; this was the fourth Challenge Cup final at The Stoop.
2012 Summer Olympics