London’s oldest & biggest sports events

This boat race began in 1715, making it one of the world’s oldest continuous sporting events. The competitors are apprentices from the Watermen’s Company, whose members once ferried people up and down the River Thames. The race starts at London Bridge and heads around four miles west to Chelsea, with the winner receiving a red coat, the traditional Watermen’s Company uniform. We have one of these coats in our collection.

More famous than Doggett’s, but not as old, the annual Boat Race has pitted teams from Oxford and Cambridge universities against each other since 1829. The current 4.2-mile course between Putney Bridge and Mortlake was first used in 1845. Thousands still line the Thames and its bridges to watch every year.

Wimbledon is one of tennis’ four major international championships, known as Grand Slams. The first tournament was held in south-west London in 1877, and women were invited to play from 1884. As famous for strawberries and cream as its all-grass courts, Wimbledon is steeped in tradition. It’s still watched live by millions worldwide every year.

The 26.2-mile route of the London Marathon was first run on 29 March 1981. These days, around 50,000 people complete the course, a mixture of professionals and amateurs, most of whom have raised funds for charity. Runners are treated to a memorable crossing of London’s iconic Tower Bridge and a sprint, jog or painful limp along the Mall towards Buckingham Palace and the finish line.

The FA Cup is the world’s oldest continuing football competition. Most of the finals of this knockout tournament have been played in London. The first was at Kennington Oval in 1872. From 1923, Wembley Stadium became its regular home. Rebuilt in the 2000s, the stadium continues to welcome fans for the biggest day in the English footballing calendar. It’s a similar story for the Women’s FA Cup, which began in 1970. The tournament’s final was played at different London grounds over the decades, before settling on Wembley in 2015.

Every Christmas morning since 1864, swimmers from the Serpentine Swimming Club have braved the freezing waters of the Serpentine lake in Hyde Park for this historic 100-yard (91-metre) race. JM Barry, author of the famous children’s book Peter Pan, presented a trophy in 1904, giving the contest its longstanding name.

Since 1879, Scotland and England have taken turns to host an annual rugby game between the two nations. It’s now part of the Six Nations tournament. The winner receives the Calcutta Cup, a silver trophy made from 270 silver rupees. These were the last remaining funds of the Calcutta Rugby Club, a team made up largely of British soldiers stationed in the Indian city now called Kolkata. Before England’s Twickenham Stadium opened in south-west London in 1909, many earlier contests were played in Richmond and Blackheath.

This legendary cricket competition stems from Australia’s first test match victory over England on their own soil, which happened at London’s Oval ground in 1882. After the defeat, The Times published a mock obituary “In Affectionate Remembrance of English cricket.” Years later, an urn was adopted as the trophy for the series played between the two countries. London’s Oval and Lord’s grounds have regularly welcomed Australia’s team for this contest, and continue to do so today.