Weltklasse Zürich achieves Platinum status

World Athletics evaluates the sustainability performance of its international meetings as part of a structured audit. All events in the international meeting series must meet a basic standard (Bronze level), which includes requirements in areas such as environmental management, social responsibility, and sustainable event organization. Building on this standard, events can implement additional measures and thereby achieve higher award levels.

Weltklasse Zürich was already among the leading meetings last year and was awarded Gold status. Thanks to further progress and additional measures, the meeting has now reached the highest level—Platinum status. This recognizes Weltklasse Zürich’s decades-long commitment to responsible event organization on an international level.

For almost a century, Weltklasse Zürich has shaped the history of international athletics. Year after year, the sold-out Letzigrund stadium becomes the stage for a unique event where the world’s best athletes compete and a legendary atmosphere is created. At the same time, Weltklasse Zürich sees itself not only as a platform for top performances, but also as a platform for taking responsibility for the future of sport and society.

A central component of this commitment is the consistent promotion of athletics beyond the meeting itself. Through projects such as the UBS Kids Cup, the UBS Kids Cup Team, the Weltklasse Zürich Zoo Run, Youth trains with Weltklasse Zürich, and the Weltklasse Zürich Extra Mile, hundreds of thousands of children and young people gain access to athletics every year. The goal is to create long-term enthusiasm for physical activity and to promote an active lifestyle.

Weltklasse Zürich has also been working on concrete improvements in the environmental area for many years. As an event organizer, the organization is aware that large-scale events are challenging from a climate perspective. Since 2009, targeted measures have been implemented to reduce the CO₂ footprint—including the use of rental materials instead of disposable products, collaboration with local suppliers and partners, and a reduced meat offering in event catering. In addition, Weltklasse Zürich has been offsetting its entire CO₂ footprint since 2009.

With its fourth sustainability report, which documents progress in 2025 and provides an outlook on measures for 2026, Weltklasse Zürich makes its commitment transparent and measurable.

Weltklasse Zürich’s understanding of sustainability is based on three central principles:

• Consistent promotion of athletics

• Taking on social responsibility

• Continuous reduction of the ecological footprint

The new Platinum status in the World Athletics sustainability ranking confirms this long-term path and underlines Weltklasse Zürich’s ambition to remain one of the most responsible sporting events worldwide in the future.