The 19th European Athletics Championships were held in Gothenburg, Sweden, between 7 August and 13 August 2006. The competition arena was the Ullevi Stadium and the official motto "Catch the Spirit". Gothenburg also hosted the 1995 World Championships in Athletics, and Stockholm, Sweden's capital, hosted 1958 European Athletics Championships.

Ullevi, sometimes known as Nya Ullevi, is a multi-purpose stadium in Gothenburg, Sweden. It was built for the 1958 FIFA World Cup, but since then has also hosted the World Allround Speed Skating Championships six times; the 1995 World Championships in Athletics and the 2006 European Athletics Championships; the UEFA Cup Winners' Cup finals in 1983 and 1990; the UEFA Euro 1992 final, the UEFA Cup final in 2004; and annually hosted the opening ceremony of the Gothia Cup, the world's largest football tournament in terms of the number of participants. IFK Göteborg has also played two UEFA Cup finals at the stadium, in 1982 and 1987, but then as "home game" in a home and away final. The stadium has hosted several events, including football, ice hockey, boxing, racing, athletics and concerts.