Grade II listed Crystal Palace sports venue set for major overhaul May 22, 2025 The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has unveiled new images of plans for the overhaul of the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre. The redevelopment of the Grade II listed multi-sport venue – which hosted the first Women’s FA Cup final and Usain Bolt as well as events such as Grand Prix motorracing – is set [...]
What price do you put on London 2040 Olympics and 2029 athletics meet? May 8, 2025 Ed Warner writes on the 2040 London Olympics and 2029 World Athletics Championships ambitions and what price you can put on the impact such events have. For London 2012 and London 2017 read London 2040 and London 2029. Plans are afoot to persuade the IOC and World Athletics to return their flagship events to Britain’s [...]
London Marathon has never been more popular so why not make it bigger? April 24, 2025 The ballot for entry to the 2026 London Marathon opens tomorrow and closes next Friday. Over 840,000 entered the draw for this weekend’s race. Strip out places bought for fundraising runners by charities as well as club slots and age-graded, guaranteed entries, and the odds of ballot success were just one in 50. Rarity value [...]
Kerr and Ingebrigtsen to clash at London Athletics Meet in July April 11, 2025 British 1500m runner Josh Kerr will take on great rival Jakob Ingebrigtsen at this year’s London Athletics Meet. Kerr and the Norwegian were expected to be the two fighting for gold at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games but Ingebrigtsen could only muster a fourth-place finish while Kerr was sandwiched on the podium between Americans Cole [...]
Lord Coe awaits IOC election result in Greece March 20, 2025 Lord Coe will today find out whether he has been elected to one of the biggest jobs in sport, president of the International Olympic Committee. The two-time Olympic champion and current president of World Athletics spent the final few days of campaigning telling potential voters – IOC members – how he’d take the Olympic movement [...]
Ed Warner: My memo to sport’s blazers? Stay out of the way March 6, 2025 Sport governing bodies should focus on organisational framework but professional activity can largely be left to the free market, argues Ed Warner. Who doesn’t love a badge, especially if having the right to flaunt it conveys status? Witness the urge to wear replica kit, even though the status this gives is simply identification as a [...]
Tennis sceptics have got it wrong – we need more mixed-sex sport events February 20, 2025 Some players aren’t happy with the US Open’s drastic rethink of mixed doubles, but tennis should be applauded for a move that is good for women’s sport, says Ed Warner. Even the most ardent tennis fan probably couldn’t tell you who won the mixed doubles at last year’s US Open, or any of the other [...]
Keely Klassic: Why I’m rooting for Hodgkinson’s ambitious showcase February 13, 2025 What the Keely Klassic lacks in spelling, Hodgkinson’s mash-up of athletics and entertainment makes up for in forward thinking, writes Ed Warner. “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” Keely Hodgkinson may not have nailed greatness just yet, but if she does secure that status it will likely [...]
UK Athletics faces £20m blow after manslaughter charge January 8, 2025 UK Athletics is staring down the barrel of a huge £20m fine after the cash-strapped track and field governing body was charged with corporate manslaughter. The Crown Prosecution Service charged UK Athletics over the death of Abdullah Hayayei, a Paralympian from the United Arab Emirates, after a metal throwing cage fell on him while training [...]
Sport in 2025: A rallying cry to London, Mayor Khan and Londoners January 2, 2025 For at least the past five years it has felt as if London was disappearing off the global sporting stage. The capital may boast the Home of Cricket, 17 professional football clubs and five stadiums with a capacity of over 50,000 but huge sporting events have sought refuge in the likes of Saudi Arabia, the [...]