All England Open Badminton Championships 2024: Schedule, how to watch on BBC & results
- Published
Marcus Ellis and Lauren Smith won mixed doubles silver at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022
All England Open Badminton Championships | |
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Venue: Utilita Arena Birmingham Dates: 12-17 March Coverage: Every day on Red Button, BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app from 10:00 GMT on Tuesday, 12 March |
The world's top badminton players will descend on Birmingham for the All England Open from March 12-17, and it is live across BBC Sport.
It is the 125th edition of the world's oldest tournament with spots at Paris 2024 up for grabs as well as the main draw.
Players from England and Scotland will compete alongside international stars from countries including China, Indonesia and Denmark.
Here is everything you need to know about the event.
Who are the ones to watch for GB?
It's an all-English affair to kick off the mixed doubles, as Marcus Ellis/Lauren Smith face Gregory Mairs/Jenny Mairs. Ellis is one of a select few Britons to have won an Olympic medal, claiming bronze in 2016.
European silver medallists Ben Lane/Sean Vendy lead the way for England in the men's doubles, with Scotland's Alexander Dunn/Adam Hall also in the draw after their European bronze in 2023.
Kirsty Gilmour is the only Briton in the singles off the back of helping the Scottish team win bronze at the European Team Championships.
Kirsty Gilmour has won a silver and a bronze at both the Commonwealth Games and European Games
Badminton was recently named as one of the most popular sports taken up in the UK by 18-24-year-olds,, external boosting Britain's hopes to match countries such as China, which has won more than half of the total gold medals since it became an Olympic sport.
"In Asia, it's just part of their DNA, like football over here," Ellis told BBC Sport. "Every child over here starts kicking a ball around, whereas they'll pick a racket up and start hitting a shuttle."
"It's just getting the young people to pick up a racket sooner and almost see it as 'this is what we want to do'," added Vendy.
How does Olympic qualification work?
The All England Open is one of the final few events before the cut-off date of 28 April to gain points for the 'Race To Paris' ranking list, which will determine Olympic spots.
A total of 172 players will travel to Paris. There will be 35 men's singles players and 35 women's singles players, plus 16 doubles partnerships in each of the disciplines, plus places reserved for host country France and Universality places.
How can I watch the All England Open?
BBC Sport will be broadcasting the All England Open from March 12-17 on the website, app, Red Button and BBC iPlayer.
All England Open Badminton Championship 2024 schedule (all times GMT)