Thessaloniki has been chosen to host the 2009 edition of the IAAF / VTB Bank World Athletics Final.

Greece's second city beat off the challenge of the only other bidder, Bydgoszcz in Poland.

The winning bid was presented by the General Secretary for Sport of the Greek Government, Stavros Douvis, supported by a delegation which included the President of SEGAS, the Greek Athletics Federation, Vasilios Sevastis

"This is an excellent stadium, which was revamped for use during the Olympic Games in 2004, is the right size for this competition with a capacity of 28,000," said IAAF President, Lamine Diack.

"We need to attract young people to our sport, and we are happy to see how Thessaloniki plans to make every effort to attract young people to the stadium.

"The Greek delegation made an excellent presentation and we believe that the Thessaloniki will offer an excellent stage for the world's best athletes for the climax of the 2009 track season."

The English city of Birmingham has been selected to host the IAAF World Half-Marathon Championships on October 11. 2009.