Why is 1500m considered a blue riband event?

because the winner takes the biscuit

Because Ze Germans have never won it.

It all stems from the 1896 Olympics in Athens when the winner of the 1500m was found to be an Everton fan.The team had just won the Liverpool Senior Cup for the ninth time (There are some in Liverpool who have never done a days work in their lives who still believe that it was the finest Everton Team ever) and a carrier pigeon arrived on the day of the medal ceremony... The rest is history........

probably because its a mile?

it is??

I thought the 800/1500 were maybe the least prestigious of the track events.  What with the fastest man tag of 100/200 and the endurance + tactics of 5000/10000

my 'it is?' is to the thread title rather than the post above me

I am asking because the BBC said it was

It doesn't say why, but it acknowledges it is/was the blue riband event in athletics...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blue_Riband_(disambiguation)

I'm guessing it's a hangover from the significance of the mile in middle distance running. 100m the most anticipated now, even before Bolt appaeared.

Wikipedia
"Surplice b c 1845 (Touchstone - Crucifix, by Priam) bred by Lord George Bentinck (1802-1848) from his good mare, the One Thousand Guineas, Two Thousand Guineas and Oaks Stakes winner Crucifix (b f 1837).
It was, however, the Derby result which devastated Lord George Bentinck. His ambition to win the Derby lingered even after he had disposed of his bloodstock in order to devote himself to politics. After Surplice had accomplished the feat it is said that Disraeli came upon Lord George in the House of Commons Library and enquired of him the cause of his dejection. When informed that not only had Surplice won the Derby but that Disraeli could not possibly understand, he answered that he could, that "the Derby was the Blue Ribbon of the Turf". So it is to Surplice and Disraeli we owe the romantic legacy of the Derby as the "Blue Riband of the Turf"."

not sure why bet the 1500m/mile was traditionally the highlight of an athletics meet and still is today - probably stems back to the quest to break the 4 minute mile... some of the big inter uni meets usually have a 4x1500m relay, which again is consider as the feature event