Sport in London 2020 Highlights
Is London the sporting capital of the world?...it would take a lot to beat, check below to see what sporting events might interest you?
Football in London 2020...A Feast
London boasts 6 teams playing in the Premier League (most popular football league in the world) and 5 teams in the Championship (5th most popular football league in the world) so there is always good football to watch in the capital. Wembley Stadium has many highlights this year hosting the EURO 2020 final and semi finals as well as other matches including all England's early games, the FA Cup Final, League Cup Final and Football league play off finals.
Key Dates and Events
March 1 Carabao League Cup Final, Wembley Stadium; May 16 League 2 Play-off Final, Wembley Stadium; May 23 FA Cup Final, Wembley Stadium; May 24 League 1 Play-off Final, Wembley Stadium; May 24 Championship Play-off Final, Wembley Stadium; July 7-8 Euro 2020 Semi Finals, Wembley Stadium; July 12 Euro 2020 Final, Wembley Stadium
Click here for other London based football fixtures
Tickets for club matches:
Premier League Clubs (Arsenal, Chelsea, Crystal Palace, Tottenham, Watford, West Ham) Championship Clubs (Brentford, Charlton, Fulham, Millwall, QPR) League 1 & 2 Clubs (AFC Wimbledon & Leyton Orient)
Wimbledon An event well worth queuing for
Tennis in London
London is home to the most prestigious tennis tournament in the world, Wimbledon.
Key Dates and Events
June 15-21 Queens Club Championships; June 29- July 12 Wimbledon; November 15-22 ATP Tennis Finals (The O2) November 26-29 Champions Tennis (Royal Albert Hall)
Cricket in the capital...jolly good chaps
Cricket in London
London is home to two international cricket grounds, the famous Lords and the Oval. There are also two county teams Middlesex (Lords) and Surrey (The Oval) as well as the newly formed London Spirit (Lords) and Oval Invincible's (The Oval) that plays in the Hundred competition.
Key Dates and Events:
May 28 Surrey vs Middlesex, T20 Oval; June 4-8 England vs West Indies, Test Match Oval; June 25-29 England vs West Indies Test Match, Lords; July 2 Middlesex vs Surrey, T20 Lords; July 11 England vs Australia One Day International, Lords; July 29 Oval Invincible's vs London Spirit, The Hundred, Oval; July 20-August 3 England vs Pakistan, Test Match, Lords; August 6 London Spirit vs Oval Invincible's, The Hundred, Lords; September 15 England vs Ireland, One Day International, Oval
Other selected cricket fixtures click here.
Rugby Union: A thugs sport played by gentlemen
Twickenham Stadium hosts England Rugby Internationals as well as the annual London Seven's tournament which is great fun. There are also three London clubs Harlequins, Saracens and London Irish (soon to be play matches at Brentford but currently in Reading)
Key Dates and Events:
February 23 England vs Ireland, Twickenham Stadium; March 7 England vs Wales, Twickenham Stadium; May 2 Army vs Navy, Twickenham Stadium; May 23-24 London Seven's, Twickenham Stadium; June 20 England Rugby Union Premiership Final, Twickenham Stadium; November 7 England vs New Zealand, Twickenham Stadium; November 14 England vs Argentina, Twickenham Stadium; November 21 England vs TBC, Twickenham Stadium; November 28 England vs Australia, Twickenham Stadium
Rugby League comes down south.
The London Broncos are the city's rugby league club.
Key Dates and Events:
July 18 Challenge Cup Final, Wembley Stadium.
Rule 1...back Frankie
The UK is home to some wonderful horse racing carnivals all of which are a great excuse to dress to impress and try win some money. There is too much drinking, people watching and socialising to be done so instead of pretending to be a genius like Stephen Hawking and working out who to bet on just back whoever legend jockey Frankie Dettori is riding.
Key Dates and Events:
March 10-13 Cheltenham Horse Racing Festival, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire; April 2-4 The Grand National, Aintree, Liverpool; June 6 Epsom Derby, Epsom Surrey June 16-20 Royal Ascot Horse Racing Carnival, Royal Ascot
Party with polo in the background
Polo in the Park is an annual festive sporting event that even the people who attend sometimes miss because they were dancing at the bar and having to much to watch it. And if you do decide to watch you may well enjoy this sport as many do (not just those wearing red trousers and a tweed jacket called Tarquin or Rupert)
Key Dates and Events:
June 5-7 Polo in the Park; Hurlingham Park, Fulham
Socialising on the Thames: Rowing in London
Watching a sporting event no one really cares about is the backbone of British culture. The Cambridge vs Oxford Boat Race is a tradition that has the Thames in Putney to Chiswick packed with viewers, while Henley is a more social occasion where people are dressed to impress and hopefully enjoying one two many drinks in the sun.
Key Dates and Events:
March 29 Cambridge vs Oxford Boat Race; July 1-5 Henley Royal Regatta, Henley on Thames
The world's best pub heroes
You have to admire athletes or at least relate to athletes who have honed their skills with a pint in one hand while they shoot arrows in the pub. This Oktoberfest but with darts.
Key Dates and Events:
December 11- January 1 World Darts Championships, Alexandra Palace (Dates TBC)
Spirit of the Olympics
London Marathon, Athletics, Ride London & Triathlon
The London Marathon captures the spirit of the 2012 Olympics and is good fun to be at the finish line which has a carnival atmosphere supported by a DJ, the best athletes come to London in July, Ride London follows the Olympic road cycle event and is popular with many participants.
Key Dates and Events:
April 26 London Marathon, Pall Mall; July 4-5 Athletics: Muller Anniversary Games, London Stadium; August 8-9 London Tri-Athlon; August 15-16 Ride London;
American sports come to town
NFL and MLB all in London
Major League Baseball comes to London as well as the NFL matches played here which has proved popular.
Key Dates and Events:
March 1 Harlem Globetrotters, The O2; March 7 Harlem Globetrotters, SSE Wembley Arena; June 13-14 Major League Baseball, London Stadium; September-November NFL (Dates & Teams TBC)
Fore!!!! British Open and Wentworth
The British Open is the pinnacle tournament in Europe (maybe the world) and many tears are shed some of joy and some of pain. A trip to the PGA Championship is inspiring when you realise beautiful women living on the golf course seem to be attracted to gentlemen 40 years older then themselves, there is also some good golf played by the best in the European tour.
Key Dates and Events:
July 16-19 British Open, Royal St George Sandwich September 10-13 BMW PGA Championship, Wentworth, Virginia Water, Surrey
One for the petrol heads: British Grand Prix
I can never understand how the British have produced so many formula one legends (Mansell, Hunt, Hamilton, Button etc) where every where you drive in the UK seems to have a 20-30 mile speed limit. The British Grand Prix is at least built for speed and the Brits support the sport with passion.
Key Dates and Events:
July 17-19 British Grand Prix, Silverstone, Northamptonshire.
And Some Unique Sporting Events...some you can partake in
The UK is a country built on tea and eccentricity and with that comes lots of fun and quirky sporting events many of which should be added to the Olympics.
Key Dates and Events:
February 25 Shrove Tuesday Pancake Races, Various locations including Leadenhall Market; Feb 29 UK Wife Carrying Championship, Dorking Surrey; March 5-8 Crufts Dog Show, NEC Birmingham; March 29 Oxford vs Cambridge Goat Race, Spitalfield's ; April 4 International Pillow Fight Day, Allen Gardens May 25 Cheese Rolling, Cooper's Hill, Gloucestershire May 30 World Custard Pie Throwing, Maidstone, Kent; June 5-7 World Crazy Golf Championships, Hastings, Sussex; December 25 Peter Pan Cup, Serpentine, Hyde Park
Click below for our Sports Calendar
