ING Night Marathon still pending

If the 2020 edition has been canceled, the riders hope to start on May 15. But no official announcement has yet been made on this subject, the athletics federation refusing to authorize the event. The City says it has not received any requests.

(MD with Kévin Zender) A month and a half before the kick-off, nobody seems to bring themselves to say the word “cancellation”. But while the kickoff must be given on May 15, the organizers of the ING Night Marathon are not fooled.

Following the Prime Minister’s announcement last Wednesday, the City of Luxembourg has drawn up the list of events canceled this summer in the capital. A decision aimed at bringing the situation under control, despite a gradual lifting of restrictive measures. Detailed review of the festivities that cannot be held in 2020.

“We presented four scenarios,” says Erich François to our colleagues at Luxemburger Wort. But to date, the director of Step by Step who coordinates the event has not received “any concrete response”. For her part, Lydie Polfer, mayor of the capital affirms that “no request” was addressed to her, thus explaining the absence “of approval or refusal” on her part. A political ping-pong that the health crisis could finally win.

Canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic, the fifteenth edition of the famous marathon is not looming under the best auspices. If the deputies voted in favor of the reopening of the terraces on Thursday, the spread of the virus continues in the country where 387 people tested positive on Wednesday.

Debated this Thursday morning in the Health Committee before being put to the vote in plenary session, the partial resumption of the activity of the Horeca sector has been recorded. On the other hand, ADR’s proposal to extend the device until 9 p.m. was rejected.

A situation that the organizers and elected officials have in mind, especially as outside gatherings are always limited to 100 people. The National Athletics Federation (FLA) notably refused to authorize the event. “I cannot imagine that the situation improves to the point that 8,000 runners can take the start” laments Stéphanie Empain.

The president of the FLA also ruled out the organization of a marathon reserved for professionals, deeming it not very “profitable” in view of the necessary efforts such as “the closure of the roads” or “the deployment of security agents”. Everything therefore suggests that the 16,000 runners present in 2019 will have to leave their shoes in the locker room once again.