Ticket sales for next summer’s Novuna London Athletics Meet have surged following Armand “Mondo” Duplantis’ announcement that he will return to the London Stadium for the first time in eight years.
The week following the announcement saw thousands of tickets snapped up, a remarkable 1,150% increase and the event’s strongest sales week since tickets were first released.
All of the week’s top-selling tickets were linked to the part of the stadium closest to the men’s pole vault, as fans raced to secure seats for the world record holder’s long-awaited return to the venue where he made his senior World Championships debut in 2017.
Duplantis, 26, is a two-time Olympic champion and multiple world and European gold medallist. He has broken the pole vault world record 14 times since 2020, most recently clearing 6.30m at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo.
His previous appearances at the London Stadium include ninth place at the 2017 World Championships aged just 17, followed by a third-place finish at the 2018 Anniversary Games.
Event Director Cherry Alexander said the reaction from fans underlined the international pull of the sport’s global stars:
“The response to Mondo’s announcement has been extraordinary. A 1,150% uplift in weekly sales is something we’ve not seen since Usain Bolt was competing and shows just how excited UK fans are to see the world’s greatest pole vaulter back in London.
“His return has given the Meet a huge early-season boost, and we expect demand to remain high as we approach next July.”
Duplantis will target the meeting record of 6.03m, set in 2015 by France’s Renaud Lavillenie, as part of a one-day programme featuring 15 world-class track and field events.
The 2026 London Athletics Meet takes place at the London Stadium on 18 July 2026. With tickets in the home straight already sold out, ‘Pole Vault corner’ looks the next area of the London Stadium to go. Fans are encouraged to act fast if they want to see Mondo up close in action.
