http://www.xcmag.com/2014/01/hang-gliding-europeans-2014-civl-on-why-the-comp-was-cancelled/

Very detailed and extensive so I won't try to summarize here.

According to a report published by CIVL in 2013 a fully-fledged,
two-week Cat 1 competition costs well over €100,000 to put on.

The report, co-authored by 2009 Hang Gliding World Championships organiser
Louise Joselyn, states that “running a Cat 1 event is a three year task”. CIVL’s
timetable says it should start with a bid three years before the event, a test
event the year before and then the final competition.

Fundraising is a big part of that three-year process. “Your Cat 1 comp will cost
€125,000? Or thereabouts, explains the report. Of that you can expect to raise a
maximum of €70,000 from pilot fees (assuming 120 pilots), leaving you with
€55,000 to find from sponsorship and fundraising, says the report.

It is this lack of funding and subsequent lack of organisation personnel that
led to the plug being pulled on the 2014 Europeans, CIVL say.