Olympics link attracts championship events

It is thought that the programme will provide a boost of more than 6m to the local economy and bring thousands of additional visitors to the city.

Events confirmed yesterday include the English open table tennis championships, the world short track speed skating championship, the Yorkshire international show jumping event, the European synchronized swimming champions cup, the European fencing championships and the world snooker championships, which will once again be held at the Crucible Theatre.

Sheffield Council leader Paul Scriven said: "This is a world-class sporting programme and one that the city should be proud of.

"It gives us all a terrific boost going into 2011 and sets a benchmark of where we want to be as an International sporting destination of choice.

"Six of the events being staged are directly related to the fact that the Olympics are coming to London in 2012 – which shows how Sheffield is leading the rest of the country in taking advantage of the opportunities presented by the Olympics.

The programme will provide 6m extra in the local economy, bringing a welcome boost to our local hotels and other businesses."

Simon Morton, head of major events at UK Sport, added: "Sheffield has repeatedly shown that it is capable of hosting world-level events."