Details of the bid have been revealed by Valentin Balahnichev, President of the All Russia Athletics Federation. 

He has received a letter from Yuri Avdeev, chairman of the Committee of Phyiscal Culture and Sports in St Petersburg, claiming that the bid has been authorised by the Government there.

"Implementation of the European Championships in Athletics in 2022 received the approval and support of the Acting Governor of St. Petersburg GS [Georgy Sergeyevich] Poltavchenko," Avdeev wrote to Balahnichev. 

Russia has never hosted Europe's flagship event but did stage the International Association of Athletics Federations World Championships in Moscow last year. 

Organisation of the event was widely praised but it was overshadowed by the poor attendances, particularly in the early stages of the Championships.

St Petersburg hosted the Goodwill Games in 1994 ©Bongarts/Getty Images

The biggest athletics event ever staged in St Petersburg was the Goodwill Games in 1994 at the Petrovsky Stadium, the home of FC Zenit of Saint Petersburg, the three-time Russian champions.

The winners included American Michael Johnson in the 200 metres, Algeria's Noureddine Morceli in the 1500m, Britain's Colin Jackson in the 110m hurdles and Mozambique's Maria Mutola in the 800m.

The Petrovsky Stadium also hosted the athletics European Cup in 1998, when Britain won the men's competition and Russia the women's. 

First held in 1934 in Turin, the European Championships have taken place every four years, with a few exceptions.

Since 2010, they have been organised every two years, and when they coincide with the Summer Olympics, the marathon and racewalking events are not contested.

This year's event was held in Zurich with the 2016 and 2018 editions to take place in Amsterdam and Berlin respectively.

The venue for the 2020 Championships is due to be awarded by European Athletics next year with the 2022 edition chosen in 2017.

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