Another Grand Prix Gold gone

Fast on the heels of the news from Thailand, another Grand Prix Gold event has been cancelled.  Badminton England announced today that the London Grand Prix Gold, which was to have had only its second edition in the autumn of 2014, had been cancelled.  A news item on the association website pointed to a lack of success in attracting any government subsidy to help defray the costs of staging the event.

This is the second GPG event to be cancelled in as many days as the Thailand Open was cancelled on Monday due to uncertainty about the political situation in Bangkok.  This could deal a blow to the BWF’s fledgling Grand Prix Gold circuit, which was re-branded for the 2014 season with hopes of greater exposure, including television deals.  In fact, three of the GPG events from the 2013 calendar are now absent from this year’s circuit, as the autumn event in Korea had been downgraded to Grand Prix status before the Gold circuit was announced.

Two of the most established events on the Grand Prix Gold circuit are in full gear, with the Yonex German Open having kicked off today in Mulheim and the Badminton Swiss Open set to begin right after the All England, on March 11th.