The London Stadium will not host the Anniversary Games this year ©Getty Images

UK Athletics has reached an agreement with the London Legacy Development Corporation (LLDC) to move the Anniversary Games away from the London Stadium - built for the 2012 Olympics - because of increased costs arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.

There is no confirmed replacement venue yet, but UK Athletics chief executive Joanna Coates insisted the event will remain in the country.

"Our priority has been to stage the event at the London Stadium," said Coates. 

"Unfortunately, that has proven impossible. 

"As a result, we have agreed to a settlement that allows us to mitigate losses and invest significant resource into the sport to help our athletes succeed. 

"We will now be putting on a world class event at another UK stadium and will be announcing further details in the near future."

Gateshead, which has already stepped in to host the season-opening Diamond League event in place of Rabat in Morocco, is one option; another contender could be Manchester.

UK Athletics and the Diamond League initially rejected a request from the LLDC to move the event, which was planned for July 13.

It was expected that reconfiguration of the London Stadium for the Anniversary Games would cost £3 million ($4.2 million/€3.5 million).

The venue is also home to Premier League football club West Ham United, and the set-up for football is different to athletics.

With the Anniversary Games the only scheduled event at the stadium between West Ham's last game of this season and the first game of the next campaign, the £3 million would fall squarely on the shoulders of the athletics meeting, rather than also being spread across concerts as would have been the case in a normal, coronavirus-free year.

UK Athletics has now come to an agreement with the LLDC to relocate the event.

"This event is an important part of London Stadium’s summer schedule and will remain so in future years," said a spokesperson for the LLDC. 

"However, because of the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on other events at the stadium, in particular the usual concert programme, it was important to reach an agreement with UK Athletics to remove the need to reconfigure the stadium for one event.

"We are grateful that UK Athletics have agreed to a revised proposal that covers the costs of relocation and disruption to their plans."

Gateshead is set to host the first Diamond League meeting of the season on May 23.