Business
Excel London reports surge in sports events as venue welcome 500,000 fans and competitors in past 12 months
- Venue strengthens position as hub for sports and fitness events following rising growth in sector.
- Fitness events see biggest rise with HYROX hosting their largest ever event with 40,000 athletes and 30,000 spectators.
- More than 40,000 London Marathon runners head to venue this week alone.
- Formula E & T100 Triathlon both highlighted in London Mayor’s 2026 sporting spectacles.
Excel London has welcomed more than 500,000 sports fans and competitors through its doors in the past 12 months, as the venue and the UK capital continues to strengthen its position as a hub for sports and fitness events.
Beginning today, more than 40,000 runners will also descend on the venue this week to collect their London Marathon registrations, with fitness events across the spectrum enjoying the biggest spike in interest.
High-profile sporting spectacles ranging from the London International Horse Show to Formula E and the T100 Triathlon – all featuring global sports personalities and live television coverage – are also amongst Excel’s packed calendar of events.
HYROX, which has recently extended its deal with Excel, hosted its largest ever event in 2025 with 40,000 athletes utilising a 40,000 sqm course in front of more than 30,000 spectators. It’s 2026 event already looks set to be even bigger with the addition of the YOUNGSTAR event across more
than 50,000sqm.
Alongside HYROX, Gym Race, ATHX, Turf Games, World of Triathlon Live, TRYKA and Nike’s After Dark Tour – the latter featuring Olympic and World Indoor Champion Keely Hodgkinson – are just some of the fitness events Excel has delivered.
London and Excel has firmly established itself as the pinnacle destination for sports and fitness events.
In addition, events such as Formula E and the T100 have been recognised by the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan as major sporting spectacles for 2026, helping to contribute more than £230 million to London’s economy.
Sindri Hjartarson, Senior Account Manager at Excel and part of the team behind this growth in sporting events, said: “London and Excel has firmly established itself as the pinnacle destination for sports and fitness events. In addition to our world-class facilities, versatility and unrivalled transport links, our team also focuses on supporting an event’s growth ambitions. For instance, HYROX’s debut in 2021 featured just 600 athletes compared to last year’s event which boasted some 40,000.
“Our newly developed waterfront is another key draw for event organisers as we’re one of the few venues that can offer swimming and water sport options, essential for triathlon events such as the T100 which we’ve hosted in various guises since 2001.”
He added: “Of course, Excel has its roots anchored in hosting huge sporting events having successfully staged 13 Olympic and Paralympic disciplines during the London 2012 Games. To see this develop over the years is fantastic, especially when you consider we’re now welcoming the next generation of Olympic athletes like Keely Hodgkinson to the venue, together with global brands like Nike.”
This announcement comes at a pivotal time for Excel too with 2026 seeing a record year for new business, in addition to hosting an unprecedented 10 major international associations. The venue is also embarking on a further multi-million-pound investment programme as part of its mission to become the best event destination in the world and was recently ranked fourth in the world’s top 100 convention centres by Travel & Tour.
