With the year 2025 in commencement, preparations are in full swing. Retired American sprinter Michael Johnson is among them, who is currently busy with the foundation of the upcoming Grand Slam Track Event. Scheduled to begin in April, the popular track and field competition led by a four-time Olympic champion is all set to make its mark as one of the elite track events of the year. Popular names from the track and field industry are in the link.

Highlighting some of the fastest racers going head-to-head in the competition with a total of six categories—short sprints, long sprints, short hurdles, long hurdles, short distance, and long distance—both men and women sprinters from across the world will soon be in action. So far, names like Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Josh Kerr, Kenny Bednarek, Masai Russell, and others have come up. But with everything decided, finance concerns have become a big setback for the event.

Financial concerns over the event

With the preparations ongoing, concerns over Johnson’s $30 million event have been circulating. UK Athletics has backed out from making any sort of involvement with the event after Johnson chooses America as the hosting city. Despite their discussion, the decision comes with reasons of financial concern.

According to UK Athletics Chief Executive, Jack Buckner, the cost of selling tickets for a three-day event in London comes with a high price. “We’re positive about Michael Johnson’s format. But three days of just track athletics is a lot of tickets to sell in the London Stadium, and the cost base comes pretty high there. They did approach us, and we had a really good discussion with them.”

The blowout also comes concerning the past financial loss faced by UKA in the last two years. A £800,000 loss in the Diamond League held in Birmingham, along with the £500,000 loss faced during the World Indoor Tour, comes as a big setback.

Going forward with a much more intellectual approach, UK Athletics is now in preparation to make a potential approach for the 2029 World Athletics Championships. With no such involvement in the Grand Slam Track event, Australia’s departure was initially a setback. Still, support from other cities came as a relief following Johnson’s announcement of the inaugural event.

Host cities of the event

With a major setback received from the UK Athletics, Johnson’s event receives support from Jamaica, Los Angeles, and now Miami. The four-track and field event is all set to begin in Kingston, Jamaica. A big moment as a host city, the amount of talent appreciated in Jamaica will indeed be a thrilling experience for the athletes.

As Michael Johnson said, “Jamaica has such a strong history in this sport. The talent and the love for the sport here make it a perfect fit for what we’re building. It’s going to be an incredible event, and we’re proud to have Kingston as one of our four Slams in our inaugural season to kick this whole thing off.”

Coming as an easy decision with Jamaica as the host city, Miami was selected as the second event host, followed by Los Angeles as the third venue. The final venue, however, remains to be finalized by this month. With the setback received from UK Athletics, mentions of Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium and the London Stadium remain in rumours for the final venue.