Organizers said the multidisciplinary event, scheduled for May 8, will be held on June 19, if conditions permit.
Published April 8, 2026
As the US-Israel war against Iran continues to affect the Middle East, World Athletics has postponed the opening round in Doha, the capital of Qatar, due to concerns for the “safety of athletes and spectators”.
World Athletics announced in a statement on Wednesday that the Doha Diamond League has been postponed from May 8 to June 19, subject to the safety and security situation in the region.
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“In consideration of the safety of athletes and spectators, we have decided to postpone the event,” the world governing body for athletics said in a statement, adding that the event would be held at a new date “if circumstances permit.”
The Diamond League said it had been “monitoring the situation in Doha” in recent weeks and was “working closely with tournament organizers, Qatari authorities and other stakeholders.”
Iran and the United States accepted a two-week ceasefire brokered by Pakistan, but the Gulf state continued to intercept missile and drone attacks on its territory.
Qatar’s Ministry of Defense said on Wednesday that it had intercepted a missile attack in the hours leading up to the ceasefire announcement, with the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain reporting attacks after news of the ceasefire was confirmed.
Organizers said they would continue to monitor developments in the Middle East over the coming weeks in order to provide “the highest level of safe and secure competition for athletes, media and spectators.”
The Doha tournament was originally scheduled to be held at the Qatar Sports Club as the opening event of the 2026 Wanda Diamond League season, but will now be held at the temperature-controlled Khalifa International Stadium with air-cooled vents.
The stadium hosted the World Athletics Championships in 2019 and is one of the venues for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Botswana’s Olympic gold medalist Lecille Tebogo headlined the 2025 Games, winning the 200m, while Jamaica’s Tia Clayton won the women’s 100m.
India’s javelin star Neeraj Chopra was a crowd favorite in the field event, but finished behind Germany’s Julian Weber.
Chopra, a 2021 Olympic gold medalist and 2024 silver medalist, has been on the Doha Diamond League podium five times.
The new dates for the Doha Diamond League have been set between the Bislett Games in Oslo on June 10th and the Meeting de Paris on June 28th, making it the eighth matchday of the 2026 season.
The series begins in Shanghai on May 16th and concludes with the Diamond League final in Brussels on September 5th.
