The Birmingham meeting, which last year staged the final for the top tier Gold series, was due to have taken place on February 24 but has fallen victim to the financial crisis at the City Council and the additional severe financial pressures currently being faced by UK Athletics, which closed its offices at Birmingham’s Alexander Stadium earlier this year.

Europe's largest local authority confirmed in September it was effectively now bankrupt and the United Kingdom Government appointed an official last month to seize financial control of the Council at the 2022 Commonwealth Games host city. 

He had warned that money would only be spent on essential services.

The decision leaves a further question over the 2026 European Athletics Championships, which Birmingham was awarded last year, and SportAccord World Sport & Business Summit, the Olympic Movement’s biggest networking meeting, which the city is due to stage next April. 

The main cause of the crisis has been caused by a £760 million ($921 million/€872 million) bill to settle equal pay claims.

The 2024 World Athletics Indoor Tour is due to feature seven Gold-level meetings, including the first in Asia as Kazakhstan hosts the opening event and the final - held in Birmingham this year - will take place in Spain.

That is scheduled to be followed by the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Glasgow from March 1 to 3.

Meanwhile, the newly released Wanda Diamond League programme for 2024 - involving 15 meetings - reveals a Chinese double-header to start the season, at Xiamen and Shanghai, with the two-day final - hosted this year by Eugene in Oregon - returning to Brussels, which last staged a final in 2019.

From just seven meetings in 2020 the World Athletics Indoor Tour will, for the second successive year, feature more than 50 meetings across all levels in 20 countries in Europe, North America and Asia.

In terms of Gold level meetings, the first is due to take place on January 27 in Astana in Kazakhstan.

The Czech Indoor Gala in Ostrava is scheduled to take place on January 30, followed by the New Balance Indoor Grand Prix at Boston on February 4,  the ORLEN Copernicus Cup in Torun in Poland on February 6, the Meeting Hauts-de-France Pas-de-Calais in Lievin in France on February 10, the New York Millrose Games on February 11 and the World Indoor Tour Gold Madrid on February 23,

The scoring disciplines on the World Athletics Indoor Tour rotate each year.

For 2024 the Gold level scoring disciplines will be: Women: 400 metres, 1500m, 60m hurdles, high jump, long jump;  Men: 60m, 800m, 3000m/5000m, pole vault, triple jump, shot put.

Each athlete’s best three results will count towards their overall point score.

The athlete with the most points in each scoring discipline at the end of the tour will be declared the winner and will be awarded a $10,000 (£8,000/€9,500) bonus.

They will also be offered a wild card entry for the World Athletics Indoor Championships Glasgow 24.

Each Gold meeting will offer at least $7000 (£5,700/€6,600) n prize money for each individual discipline on the programme, including $3000 ( £2,500/€2,800)  the winner.

Athletes in the 2024 Wanda Diamond League will compete for points at 14 series meetings from April to September, with the most successful qualifying for the two-day Wanda Diamond League Final at the Memorial Van Damme in Brussels on September 13 and 14.

The season is due to begin with meetings in Xiamen on April 20 and Shanghai on April 27.

Following meetings in Doha, Rabat and Eugene, the series will then head to Oslo and Stockholm for the first European meetings on May 30 and June 2.

In July, meetings in Paris, Monaco and London will give athletes the chance to prepare for the Olympic Games.

After the Olympics, there will be four more chances to earn points in Lausanne, Silesia, Rome and Zurich before the season finale.