Herculis Monaco: a meeting for the stars of athletics

The Herculis Meeting in Monaco has been welcoming the world’s elite athletes since 1987. It is the first stage of the Diamond League.

It was in 1987 that the first Herculis International Athletics Meeting, organised by the Monegasque Athletics Federation (FMA), took place. The name Herculis is closely entwined with Monaco’s history: the Ligurian city of Monoïkos was associated with Hercules, the most famous hero in Greek and Roman mythology. Renowned for his strength, his courage and his many legendary feats, the demigod is considered to be the founder of athletic games and, as such, is the patron of athletes.

Herculis EBS in Monaco has always favoured great performances by middle-distance athletes.

Indeed, it is the only meeting at any stage of the Diamond League to have provided the backdrop for three current world records: 12’35’’36 in the men’s 5,000 m by Joshua Cheptegei from Uganda in 2020, 4’12’’33 in the women’s mile run by Sifan Hassan from the Netherlands in 2019, and 8’44’’32 in the women’s 3,000 m steeplechase by Beatrice Chepkoech from Kenya in 2018.

Monaco’s Herculis EBS Meeting has always been held at the Louis II Stadium, a sporting complex that comprises a stadium with a seated capacity of more than 18,000, an athletics track, a multipurpose sports hall and a water sports centre.

It is named after Prince Louis II, who commissioned construction of the previous stadium in the Principality in 1939.