The Badminton World Federation is pleased to announce that the 2011 BWF World Championships will take place in London, offering badminton fans a sneak preview of the world’s top players in the countdown to the 2012 London Olympic Games.

Hosted by BADMINTON England, the BWF World Championships will be played at the world-famous Wembley Arena from 8 -14 August, 2011.

BWF Chief Operating Officer Thomas Lund said: "The BWF is delighted to have on board such an enthusiastic and committed partner in BADMINTON England to ensure the success of the 2011 World Championships.


“BADMINTON England has, over the years, established the All England Championships as one of the best-organised badminton tournaments in the BWF calendar and the BWF is confident that BADMINTON England will continue to do a wonderful job in hosting the World Championships.”

China is currently the most successful nation in the history of the World Championships with 49 titles since 1977 (excluding 2010), but the Chinese are expected to be pushed all the way by players from Denmark, Indonesia, Korea and Malaysia.

They will be joined by players from the host nation who will be out to impress ahead of the 2012 London Olympic Games. Top stars such as Nathan Robertson and Anthony Clark will lead the charge in the men’s doubles, and rising talent like Rajiv Ouseph and Andrew Smith will be battling to make their mark on home soil.

England won one gold and two silver medals at the 2006 Championships in Madrid, Spain with Nathan Robertson and Gail Emms securing the gold medal and Anthony Clark becoming one of few players in the world ever to win two medals in the same World Championships.

The BWF World Championships is an annual event except in the year of the Olympics and the 2010 edition will be played in Paris, France, in August.

BADMINTON England Chief Executive Adrian Christy said: "We are delighted and very excited to be hosting the World Championships in London, and to do so one year out from the Olympic Games makes it even more special.

“BADMINTON England is extremely proud to welcome the badminton world to our capital city and plans are already in development to ensure that we stage one of the best, if not the best, World Championships to date in the summer of 2011.

“I would like to assure the BWF and the players that BADMINTON England will do all that is possible to make the first BWF World Championships in London a truly wonderful experience for all concerned.

“I would also like reiterate our appreciation to the BWF for their confidence in BADMINTON England to host the World Championships.

“We have just staged the Yonex European Badminton Championships in Manchester and we are now looking forward to the countdown to the 2011 World Championships.”