Contributing Author: Thomas Tolladay
Want a great New Year’s resolution? Save up time and energy for an amazing year of events in and around London, 2012 is going to be a spectacular year. All the traditional favorites and the London Olympics!
Rugby rules, and Twickenham is its realm, hosting 6 Nations Rugby teams from England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, France and Italy, competing for multiple trophies and the dreaded last-place “wooden spoon.” Play begins February 4. England meets Wales at Twickenham on February 25, then Ireland on March 17 as games end.
May is marked by the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium, and well illustrates the scheduling scramble for fans of English home and international team-competitions. In the face of huge calendar conflicts, this fixture of English football held its ground, and the FA Cup Final is May 5.
Twickenham hosts the 2012 Heineken Cup Finals the weekend of May 19and 20, sharing the weekend with the Amling Cup Competition. Plans for both competitions were delayed this year by World Rugby Cup matches in New Zealand, and 82,000 patient fans are ready and waiting for the Heineken Cup.
May welcomes the Lords Test Match against West Indies May 17 through 21. The second Test Match, against South Africa, is scheduled for August 16 through 20. The 2012 summer cricket season is therefore bracketed by traditional rivalries on spectacular historic grounds.
The London 2012 Olympics Stadium awaits contenders for the EURO 2012 Henri Delaunay Cup. Poland and Ukraine co-host 16 UEFA teams. Play begins in Warsaw June 6-8, and continues throughout the month. Following UN World Health Organization guidelines, all Euro 2012 venues will be tobacco-free!
For tennis fans, Wimbledon is scheduled for June 25 through July 8. Wimbledon is the fourth venue for tennis’ Grand Slam, along with the Australian, French and US Opens. Historic Wimbledon maintains the only grass courts on which these champions play.
June heralds Diamond Jubilee, a June 2-5 celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s 60-year reign. Saturday the Queen attends Epsom Derby. Sunday, she hosts Big Lunch, a national festival of local parties and picnics. A Thames River pageant and UK-wide lighting of beacon fires remind Britons and the world of centuries of British history and hope.
June means roses and Royal Ascot. From the 19th to the 23rd, this royal racetrack celebrates 300 years of sport with purses up to £400 million, the Queen Anne and Coronation Stakes and the stylishly-stunning Ladies’ Day.
July sport shifts gears, for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. The 2012 Formula One FIA World Cup’s big 2.4 litre V-8 engines downsize to 1.6 litre V-6 in 2014. Save July 6-July 8 for a storm of roadway excitement.
And the Olympics! From the new stadium at Stratford to London-wide venues, athletes will compete in this pinnacle of worldwide sport from July 27 to August 12. The London Committee has set outreach to school children and military veterans as major goals. Of 10.8 million total tickets, football and Paralympic Games tickets remain as of November 2011.