European Athletics introduces guidelines to prevent sexualisation of female athletes
The European Athletics Championships have introduced new guidelines aimed at preventing the sexualisation of female athletes in camera coverage, promoting respectful and professional broadcasting standards.
The Full Story
A plain summary built from the channels that reported this story.
European Athletics and the European Broadcasting Union have brought in new guidelines for the European Championships in Birmingham, aimed at stopping the sexualisation of female athletes through camera angles and replays. The guidance, which applies to broadcasters, is designed to cut out shots that focus on athletes' bodies rather than their performance, particularly in events like pole vault, long jump and triple jump.
The head of the EBU sports unit said the sexualisation of women athletes through selective camera angles and their instinct choices continues to be a significant concern across many sports broadcasts. The move follows the spread of revealing videos of athletes posted online. Female athletes were consulted, including Holly Bradshaw, who helped shape the guidance. Molly Caudery, who has had videos of herself posted online, said she welcomed the change and hoped it would reduce such clips. However, the guidance is not mandatory, so broadcasters outside the EBU are free to ignore it.
Meanwhile, the championships themselves have produced strong British performances. Amy Hunt won gold in the women's 100m, with Dina Asher-Smith taking silver. Great Britain also picked up silver in the 4x400 mixed relay. Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5000m, his first race in almost a year after Achilles surgery.
But there have been concerns about attendance. The Alexander Stadium had empty seats on the opening nights, with some fans blaming high ticket prices. A Category E ticket for high-demand sessions costs £150, though organisers say adult prices start from £10 and children's from £5 for morning sessions, with half of all tickets costing £30 or less. Shuttle buses cost £5 return, and some concessions have been charging £18.50 for a pork roll. Organisers say numbers are rising steadily, and Keely Hodgkinson's 800m final on Friday is almost sold out.
On screen
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Key Claims
Claims reported during this story's coverage, mapped by channel. Ordered by how many channels carried each claim.
| Claim | BBC News | BBC One |
|---|---|---|
| European Athletics and the European Broadcasting Union introduced guidelines to prevent sexualisation of female athletes through camera angles and replays. | · | |
| Female athletes, including Holly Bradshaw and Molly Caudery, were consulted about the guidelines. | · | |
| Great Britain won two medals on the opening night of the championships: a silver in the 4x400m mixed relay (the first British medal) and a gold for Amy Hunt in the women's 100m. | · | |
| Half of all tickets cost £30 or less. | · | |
| Jakob Ingebrigtsen won the 5,000m after nearly a year out with injury and Achilles surgery. | · | |
| Morning session tickets start at £10 for adults and £5 for children. | · | |
| Organisers said numbers were rising and that Keely Hodgkinson's 800m final was almost sold out. | · | |
| Shuttle bus to the stadium costs £5 return per adult. | · | |
| Team GB won gold and silver in the men's 100m final. | · | |
| The crowd at the Alexander Stadium was sparse, with empty seats in the upper tiers. | · | |
| The guidance is not mandatory for broadcasters outside the European Broadcasting Union. | · | |
| The guidelines were applied for the first time at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham. | · |
Channel Perspectives
What each channel focused on, with key quotes.
This channel focused exclusively on the new guidelines, explaining their purpose, the consultation with athletes, and the fact they are not mandatory. It did not cover the sporting results or attendance issues.
- “It's to get rid of angles that aren't necessarily needed in order to analyze the sport mainly in pole vault long jump and five jump”
- “Yeah they have. Holly Bradshaw was a part of the guidance. I also spoke to Molly Caudery today who says it's welcome. She's had videos of herself posted online and she hopes that'll be cut down but generally the vibe is that everyone is happy with this guidance but it is only guidance it's not mandated so it's up to broadcasters outside the EBU whether they want to bring it in but the EBU they're going to try and stick to it.”
This channel covered the championships themselves, focusing on British medal success, ticket prices and sparse crowds. It did not mention the new guidelines on sexualisation of female athletes.
- “We bought the really cheap seats so there was only a tenner for us, but we were saying the rest of it is ridiculously expensive, yeah.”
- “I actually think the organisers have done a pretty good job here, and you mentioned empty seats, and it's true that over the last few days we haven't sold out the stadiums but we're seeing those numbers rising steadily.”
Broadcast Timeline
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