Prime Minister Keir Starmer is passionate about Sheffield maintaining its right to host the Snooker World Championships at the Crucible. The famous event is at risk of being moved in a divisive switch following interest from the Middle East.
The Crucible has been the home of the contest since 1977, but the contract to stage the tournament runs out in 2027. Fears have emerged that the iconic Snooker competition could leave Sheffield after Qatar and Saudi Arabia signalled their intent to host the tournament. Barry Hearn met with council leader, Tom Hunt, and chief executive Kate Josephs to discuss a deal, last May.
A spokesperson for Downing Street expressed the PM’s passionate intent on protecting sporting and cultural institutions, with the Sheffield-hosted Crucible among them.
In a statement to the Sheffield Star, No10 said: “The Prime Minister is passionate about protecting our sporting and cultural institutions – and this includes the Crucible in Sheffield, which has hosted the World Snooker Championship for 50 years.”
The fight is ongoing to keep the Championships held in England but the snooker chief said last year that the onus is on leaders within Sheffield to align with their ambitions. Hearn said in May: “This is something where Sheffield can only go so far, but with government assistance it can go further, and it can be maintained.
“So, the onus is still on Sheffield to come up with something in line with our thinking. This is a major event in England and yet the prize money is nowhere near where I want it to be. So, everyone understands each other’s problems.
“Fingers crossed the government understands the significance of this event remaining in the UK and remaining in Sheffield.” Snooker icon Ronnie O’Sullivan has previously made his feelings clear about the Championships being held specifically at the Crucible. The seven-time winner went as far as saying he’d rather play ‘anywhere’ than the 980-seater venue.
He told Eurosport: “I don’t actually like The Crucible to be honest. I’d much rather it go anywhere than The Crucible.
“I know it’s a great venue but I don’t like playing there for 17 days. For me if it goes anywhere but the Crucible it would be brilliant.”
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