With 150 days to go to October's World Taekwondo Grand Prix, sports fans across the country have their first opportunity today to purchase tickets for this world-class event in Manchester.
This will be the third staging of the Grand Prix in Manchester, with the world's best athletes once again coming together to compete not just for the Grand Prix title, but also for ranking points in the lead up to the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Britains's newly crowned World Champion Bianca Walkden and fellow medallists Damon Sansum and Rachelle Booth will line-up with Olympic medallists Jade Jones and Lutalo Muhammad in arguably the strongest British team ever assembled. They will be joined at the event by the world's leading 250 athletes, across eight different weight categories, at the Regional Arena, Manchester from 16-18 October.
Taekwondo fans attending the Manchester Taekwondo GP can choose to attend day or evening sessions or buy discounted Combined, Weekend or Competition (all three days) passes. Individual sessions are available from just £10 for Adults, with all day (Combined) passes starting from £20. Under-16s can benefit from half-price tickets across all price categories.
Jade Jones, Olympic Gold medallist and winner of last year's Grand Prix Final, said of the event: "Having been runner-up at the previous two Manchester Grand Prix, I'm going to be going all out to get onto the top of the podium and gain further valuable ranking points for Rio 2016 qualification.
"The Grand Prix provides the perfect opportunity to perform against the world's best, in front of a home crowd who really spur us on."
GB Taekwondo Performance Director, Gary Hall, added: "This is a really important year for the British team, kick-started by fantastic success at the World Championships which have just finished in Russia. By the time of the Manchester Grand Prix we will know what we need to do to secure automatic qualification spots for Rio.
"Home support can really make a difference and each year in Manchester we have experienced bigger and noisier crowds. So if you want to get up close and personal to elite level Taekwondo, to experience the speed, drama and excitement of an Olympic sport, then I would urge you to purchase tickets."
The World Taekwondo Grand Prix is just one of over 30 events on the #EveryRoadtoRio campaign, which aims to encourage the British public to support GB athletes as they seek qualification and preparation for Rio 2016.
Simon Morton, UK Sport's Director of Major Events, said: "It is fantastic to see some of the world's best Taekwondo athletes come to Manchester. The British team have just completed a brilliant World Championships in Russia and the Manchester crowd will give them a great reception back on home soil.
"Manchester is the home of GB Taekwondo and the WTF Grand Prix will be a spectacular event on #EveryRoadtoRio as our athletes look to prepare and qualify for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. This is a great opportunity for sports fans to see some of the stars of London 2012 and the potential stars of Rio 2016 and cheer them to victory."
Tickets for the World Grand Prix Manchester are available for general purchase through Ticketmaster (www.ticketmaster.co.uk/wtgp ) from 9am on Tuesday, 19 May 2015.
More information about tickets and the full Grand Prix schedule is available on the event websitewww.taekwondogp.com
For further information please contact Jon Duckworth at eightyone600:
jd@eightyone600.co.uk / 07932 759638
