The competition is due to held at the Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium, home of the IPC Athletics Grand Prix Italian Open Championships for the past two years, from June 10 until 16.

The Championships are expected to see around 700 athletes from 40 countries competing, with action getting underway less than three months before Rio 2016.

"It is testament to the hard work of, the Italian National Paralympic Committee, the Italian Federation of Paralympic and Experimental Sports (FISPES) and Italian Federation of Athletics (FIDAL) that IPC Athletics has awarded the last major regional Championships ahead of the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games to the Italian city of Grosseto," said Xavier Gonzalez, the IPC chief executive.

"The city has an excellent track record for staging Para-sport events, as shown with hosting one leg of the IPC Athletics Grand Prix in 2013 and 2014, and we are hugely confident that this event will be a huge success.

"The 2012 European Championships [in Stadskanaal in The Netherlands] provided the perfect stepping stone for many athletes in their preparations for London 2012 and a number went on to add Paralympic titles to their European crowns.

"This is yet another major addition to the rapidly expanding IPC Athletics calendar of events, helping to fulfil our objective of increasing the number of competition opportunities for leading athletes."

The 2016 IPC Athletics European Championships will be held inside the Carlo Zecchini Olympic Stadium, a 10,200-capacity multi-purpose Stadium that is home to Italian football team Unione Sportiva Grosseto FC ©Getty Images



As well as the IPC Athletics Grand Prix leg, Grosseto has also played host to the 2001 European Athletics Junior Championships and the 2004 International Association of Athletics Federation (IAAF) World Junior Athletics Championships, both at the Carlo Zecchini Olympic stadium.

Following the announcement, FISPES President Sandrino Porru, said: "I am extremely happy.

"It's a dream come true to have a Para-athletics European Championships in Italy, a first in our history.

"It's a huge pride for FISPES and the entire Italian Paralympic Movement to host an event of this importance.

"Grosseto 2016 will be also a chance for Italy to support the growth of Para-athletics ahead of the Rio Games with the aim of bettering the feat achieved in London.

"This important outcome has been possible thanks to the joint commitment and hard work of FISPES, IPC Athletics, the Italian Paralympic Committee and FIDAL.

"To all of them, I would like to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation."

The 2014 European Championships are set to be held in Swansea, Great Britain, from August 18 until 23.

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