Home » Sporting London
Category Archives: Sporting London
Review: Superstars of Gymnastics at the O2 Arena – 23 March 2019
Photo – Jamie McPhilimey/Matchroom Multi Sport
Gymnastics has enjoyed a massive growth in the UK since the London 2012 Olympics and British gymnastic success in the Rio 2016 Olympics. Therefore it was not surprising that large crowds made their way to the O2 Arena for the Superstars of Gymnastics event.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Two of the major attractions of the event was the American superstar Simone Biles and British Olympic hero Max Whitlock. They were joined by Rio gold medalist Fabian Hambüchen of Germany, triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ellie Black of Canada, double Olympic silver medallist Marcel Nguyen, three-time World Champion Oksana Chusovitine, four-time World Cup medallist Elisabeth Seitz, six-time Dutch national champion Casimir Schmidt and Jamaican international Danusia Francis.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
British favourites, James Hall, Danny Purvis, Dom Cunningham, Courtney Tulloch, Sam Oldham, Jay Thompson and Halle Hilton were also among the competitors.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Unlike the usual gymnastic events, Superstars of Gymnastics includes a series of innovations that increases the excitement for the gymnasts and the audience. Routines will be judged by the all-star panel, who will also provide feedback. Each apparatus will have its own leaderboard with a winner per piece to be determined by the highest combined score. Athletes will have the freedom to devise and perform their own routines and judges will score out of 10 based on flair, creative choreography, execution and engagement with the live crowd at The O2.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
To get the event started, Simone Biles showed her considerable skills on the floor. Biles is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time with a remarkable total of twenty five Olympic and World Championship medals. Although only 22, Biles has recently said that the Tokyo 2020 will be her final Olympics and the huge ovation by the O2 crowd when she entered the arena was testament of the high esteem she is held in the world of sport and beyond.
Photo – Jamie McPhilimey/Matchroom Multi Sport
Biles and Whitlock were not competing with other gymnasts but put on special performances in the afternoon and evening sessions before joining Amy Tinkler and Laurent Landi on the judging panel.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Away from the pressures of high level competition, the gymnasts soon entered the spirit of the event and enjoyed the freedom to perform anything they want to enthuse the crowd.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The combination of legends and upcoming gymnasts provided a great blend of experience and youthful exuberance, both enjoyed by loud and knowledgeable crowd.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The crowd was treated to some unusual dancing on the top of the parallel bars and Danusia Francis provided a remarkable display above and below the beam.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The Superstars of Gymnastics showcases the stars of the sport in a fun and innovative way, the large number of young people in the audience were encouraged to sing, dance and interact with the gymnasts. This created an enjoyable atmosphere where the gymnasts tried a few unorthodox moves which delighted the audience. With many sports struggling to attract a young audience, gymnastics seem to have found a winning formula with serious competitions and fun events like Superstars of Gymnastics.
Visiting London Guide Rating – Highly Recommended
For more information , visit the Event website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Review: The London Landmarks Half Marathon 2019
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
A month before the London Marathon, runners had the opportunity of racing around the capital’s streets with the second London Landmarks Half Marathon organised by baby charity Tommy’s.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
A warm spring morning bought out around 13,000 runners and an estimated 50,000 spectators on the 13-mile course that runs through the heart of London.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The route passes 12 key landmarks and numerous other places of interest including Nelson’s Column, Big Ben, the London Eye, St Paul’s Cathedral, Bank of England and the Tower of London. Runners start at Pall Mall, before ending up at Downing Street in Whitehall to collect their coveted medals.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Alongside the many thousands of runners, a number of celebrities will also be attempting the 13.1 mile course, including Call the Midwife actress Jennifer Kirby, TV presenter Jenni Falconer, Radio 1 broadcaster Cel Spellman and Britain’s Got Talent judge Amanda Holden.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
To keep the runners and spectators entertained there are lots of cheer stations featuring choirs, bands, dance acts and DJs.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
Like the London Marathon, many of the runners are running for a variety of charities and last year the inurgral event raised over 4 million pounds.
© 2019 Visiting London Guide.com – Photograph by Alan Kean
The London Landmarks Half Marathon is already a firm favourite with runners, many who will be returning at the end of April to take on the London Marathon.
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Superstars of Gymnastics at the O2 Arena – 23 March 2019
Some of the world’s top gymnasts will be making their way to the O2 arena for the Superstars of Gymnastics event on the 23rd March 2019.
The event is designed to showcase the very best in gymnastics with a number of innovations that increases the excitement for the gymnasts and the audience. Routines will be judged by the all-star panel, who will also provide feedback. Each apparatus will have its own leaderboard with a winner per piece to be determined by the highest combined score. Athletes will have the freedom to devise and perform their own routines and judges will score out of 10 based on flair, creative choreography, execution and engagement with the live crowd at The O2.
Top gymnasts, Simone Biles and Max Whitlock will head a star studded line up that includes Germany’s Fabian Hambüchen, a gold medallist on horizontal bars at Rio 2016, triple Commonwealth Games gold medallist Ellie Black of Canada, double Olympic silver medallist Marcel Nguyen, three-time World Champion Oksana Chusovitine, four-time World Cup medallist Elisabeth Seitz, six-time Dutch national champion Casimir Schmidt and Jamaican international Danusia Francis.
British favourites, James Hall, Danny Purvis, Dom Cunningham, Courtney Tulloch, Sam Oldham and Jay Thompson and Halle Hilton will also compete.
Biles and Whitlock will perform during both the afternoon and evening show and will join Amy Tinkler and Laurent Landi on the judging panel.
For tickets and more information , visit the O2 website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Enjoy National Hunt Racing at Kempton Park and Sandown Park in 2019
Enjoy National Hunt racing at two of London’s iconic racecourses in 2019, Sandown Park and Kempton Park offer a variety of racing from Friday 4th January.
Kempton Park kicks off 2019 racing on 4th January with an afternoon of flat racing followed by all-weather flat fixtures every week and a great selection of jump fixtures. Saturday, 12th January sees Kempton Park’s first jump racing of 2019 with an action packed afternoon of racing on 32Red Lanzarote Hurdle Day including the listed Unibet Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle.
888sport Chase Day on 23rd February is an afternoon of quality jump racing where many of the horses you see will be going on to the Cheltenham Festival. The competitive card includes the Grade 2 Adonis Juvenile Hurdle Race and the Handicap Steeple Chase with £218,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Sandown Park’s 2019 racing starts on Saturday 5th January. The first Saturday of 2019 sees jump racing kick off the new year with seven races from 12.15pm to 3.35pm on Unibet Tolworth Hurdle Day. The day includes the two mile Grade 1 Unibet Tolworth Novices’ Hurdle, also the listed Unibet Mares’ Hurdle and the Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Steeple Chase.
2nd February will see 888sport Contenders Day, a day filled with seven races of high-quality jump racing. The Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase grade 1 race is open to horses five years and older, last year’s winner Terrefort trained by Nicky Henderson has also gone on to Grade 1 wins. This day can give come handy pointers for Cheltenham Festival contenders.
Sandown Park is the only racecourse in the country which stages two Military race days – The Royal Artillery Gold Cup Day on 15th February and Grand Military Gold Cup Day on 8th March.
The Royal Artillery Gold Cup was first run in 1862 with Sandown Park first hosting the meeting in 1878, three years after the racecourse opened. With seven races, the feature race, the Royal Artillery Gold Cup is open to horses that are owned or have been leased by participants serving or who have served in the Royal Artillery or one of its recognised Establishments or Units. The jockeys must be amateurs and either past or existing members of any of the Armed Forces, making the race unique in every sense.
The day will be immersed in Royal Artillery history and entertainment with the Royal Artillery parade, the 1pm gun salute and the Band of the Honourable Artillery Company performing. Outriders will escort the racehorses and jockeys for the Royal Artillery Gold Cup race onto the track.
Grand Military Gold Cup Day on 8th March is also a wonderful afternoon of racing steeped in military heritage. The day’s feature race, the Grand Military Gold Cup is open to horses aged five years or older and is run over a distance of 3 miles and ½ furlong. The jockeys are all serving or retired Military Amateur Riders with ownership of the horses limited to serving or ex-serving members of the armed forces. The race was first run in 1841 with the first running at Sandown Park in 1881.
For more information, visit the Sandown Park website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Champions Tennis at the Royal Albert Hall – 6th to 9th December 2018
The ever popular Champions Tennis returns to The Royal Albert Hall on the 6th – 9th December, with legends of the game including John McEnroe, Tim Henman, Jamie Murray and Tommy Haas set to take centre court in the iconic setting.
Champions Tennis is a four-day tournament which includes world-class tennis from the legends of the game, although competitive the tournment is also a lots of fun for all the family.
This year, the tournament includes John McEnroe, Mark Philippoussis, Juan Carlos Ferrero, Carlos Moya, Mansour Bahrami, Tim Henman, Tommy Haas, Xavier Malisse, Henri Leconte, Mikael Pernfors, Thomas Enqvist, Goran Ivanisevic and Jamie Murray.
The tournament, now in its 22nd year, is comprised of an afternoon and an evening session per day –
with two scheduled matches per session; one competitive singles match and one doubles match.
For more information and tickets, visit the Event website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Sandown Park Racecourse Ladies’ Day and Summer Festival – 6th and 7th July 2018
Photo – racingfotos.com
Royal Ascot may be over for another year, however style and glamour with top class racing carries on with the Summer Festival at Sandown Park Racecourse on the 6th and 7th July 2018.
Photo – racingfotos.com
Sandown Park Racecourse invites women of all ages to dress their best for Ladies’ Day, the first day of the Summer Festival at the racecourse to win some fantastic prizes which include return flights to New York, a year’s supply of Chi Chi London dresses and £150 voucher for FeelUnique.com.
Internationally-renowned DJ Charlie Hedges will be taking to the decks for the official After Party once racing has finished to allow racegoers to enjoy the outside bars and dance the evening away.
Photo – racingfotos.com
The second day of the Summer Festival (Saturday 7th July) sees the Group 1 Coral-Eclipse race, that attracts some of the best flat racehorses over a mile and two furlongs. It is the first opportunity for younger ‘Classic’ hopeful horses to battle it out against the older horses at the highest level.
After racing, Reggie Yates will take to the decks for the official After Party in the Parade Ring.
Sandown Park racecourse, Esher, is only 30 minutes on the train from central London and is one London’s most popular racecourses.
For more information , visit the Sandown Park website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Athletics World Cup London 2018 at the London Stadium on 14th and 15th July 2018
Following on from the success of London 2017 which saw the capital become the first city ever to stage both the World Para Athletics and IAAF World Athletics Championships in the same year, in 2018 athletic fans will see some top class sport in the UK with the Athletics World Cup London 2018 due to take place at the London Stadium on 14th-15th July 2018.
Eight of the top athletics nations in the world will battle for the inaugural World Cup Trophy, the competition format features all field and track events up to and including the 1500m and will star the world’s eight leading athletics nations over those disciplines: USA, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Poland, China, Germany, France, Jamaica and South Africa. The ground-breaking two-day event takes place under floodlights across Saturday 14 and Sunday 15 July at the London Stadium.
Each nation will be competing for a $2million prize pot over two evening sessions of athletics.
To mark 100 years since women were given the right to vote, and as part of the Mayor of London’s #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign, the first edition of the event will see all Nations select a female athlete as team captain.
For more information , visit the Event website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
NBA : Philadelphia 76ers v Boston Celtics at the O2 – 11th January 2018
The National Basketball Association is returning to The O2. The NBA London Game 2018 will feature the Philadelphia 76ers and Boston Celtics playing a regular-season game on Thursday 11 January 2018.
The game will mark the league’s eighth regular-season game in London and the Celtics’ second game in the capital, having played a preseason game against the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2007. The 76ers will be playing their second game in the UK and first game in London, having previously played a preseason game in Manchester against the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2013.
The Philadelphia 76ers’ current roster features 2016-17 NBA All-Rookie First Team members Joel Embiid (Cameroon), who led all rookies in points and rebounds and Dario Šarić (Croatia), who was twice named Eastern Conference Rookie of the Month during the 2016-17 season, as well as 2016 and 2017 No. 1 overall draft picks, Ben Simmons (Australia) and Markelle Fultz (U.S.), respectively. The Celtics’ roster currently features two-time NBA All-Star Isaiah Thomas (U.S.), who last season led the team in scoring with a career-high 28.9 points per game, 2017 NBA All-Star Gordon Hayward (U.S.) and four-time NBA All-Star Al Horford (Dominican Republic), who last season led the team in rebounds.
In addition to the on-court action, the NBA London Game 2018 will feature a variety of interactive fan activities, NBA Cares community outreach initiatives and Jr. NBA basketball programming that will bring the NBA experience to fans in London.
Tickets go on sale in October 2017.
For more information , visit the O2 website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in January 2014, we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Review : Watching the IAAF World Championships 2017 at the London Stadium – 7th August 2017
Between the 4th and 13th August 2017, London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park is the location for one of the biggest global sporting events of the year.
The IAAF World Championships London 2017 is the biggest event to be staged at the London Stadium since the 2012 Olympic with 2000 athletes from 200 nations competing across 14 sessions. The London Championships will be the 16th in the event’s 34-year history with the first IAAF World Championships being hosted in Helsinki in 1983.
Despite the massive demand for tickets, it is still possible to attend certain sessions. Most fans arrive at Stratford station and then take a 20 minute walk to the stadium. Near the stadium is Hero Village which is a fan village full of athletic themed activities, events and sponsor displays specially built for the Championships.
You can enjoy the attractions of Hero Village before you enter the stadium but there is no access after you have entered the stadium. Like many sporting events, there is security and bag checks and there may be queues to enter the stadium depending on what time you arrive.
Once inside the stadium complex, there is plenty of food and drink options to enjoy before and during the action.The event organisers try to create a party atmosphere with music and interviews with leading athletes before the action.
Many sessions start with medal ceremonies from the previous sessions events before the action starts.
Often there are a number of events taking place at the same time such as racing on the track, field events and action in the jumps.
Although the majority of supporters are from the United Kingdom, visitors from around the world arrive at the Championships to support their particular country or favourites.
With nearly 60,000 people in the stadium, it provides a great atmosphere to enjoy the world’s best athletes competing against each other.
For those without tickets, some free events take place outside of the stadium including the marathons which took place on the 6th August and the Race Walks which take place on the Mall on the 13th August.
Video Review available here
For more information or tickets, visit the event website here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014 , we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
Marathon Day at the Athletic World Championship in London – 6th August 2017
The City of London, Westminster and the Tower of London took centre stage on the day of the Athletic World Championship Marathons.
Whilst most of the events take place at the London Stadium, the marathon’s offer an opportunity for Londoners and visitors to enjoy the event.
A walk around the course illustrates how these events rely on large number of volunteers and considerable organisation.
The start and the finish of the race takes place on Tower Bridge and a large crowd congregated on the Tower of London where a fan zone was set up in the moat in the Tower complex.
The first marathon was the men’s marathon which attracted many of the best marathon runners in the world.
Kenya’s Geoffrey Kirui won gold with a time of 2:08.27. Ethiopian Tamirat Tola finished second in 2:09.49, two seconds in front of Tanzania’s Alphonce Simbu.
Video Review available here
London Visitors is the official blog for the Visiting London Guide .com website. The website was developed to bring practical advice and latest up to date news and reviews of events in London.
Since our launch in 2014 , we have attracted thousands of readers each month, the site is constantly updated.
We have sections on Museums and Art Galleries, Transport, Food and Drink, Places to Stay, Security, Music, Sport, Books and many more.
There are also hundreds of links to interesting articles on our blog.
To find out more visit the website here
London Visitors 