MLB
MLB to take over London’s Trafalgar Square
With the MLB London Series back for the first time in three years, the league and city are teaming up to make it an unforgettable experience.
When MLB first came to London back in 2019, it was an amazing success story. The Yankees and Red Sox played a two-game series in front of over 118,000 people. Amazingly, not all of them were Americans either!
It would be a clear lie to say that the British have a taste for baseball, but it is equally clear that there is fertile ground to be tilled here by MLB. This is, after all, the home of cricket, and in fact, Abner Doubleday myths aside, the ancestral home of baseball itself.
So now, the homecoming of baseball to the British capital, long-delayed by the pandemic, is once again on, as the Cardinals and Cubs will play in West Ham’s London Stadium on Saturday and Sunday, June 24 and 25. And MLB is pulling out all the stops to make it an event to remember.
Together with the London Mayor’s office, MLB is staging a “takeover” of Trafalgar Square, which will see the landmark transformed into “the ultimate festival of baseball” starting on Friday, June 23 and lasting the entire weekend.
There will be baseball themed activities, ballpark food, MLB merchandise, and a live screening of the games themselves.
The MLB London Series Trafalgar Square Takeover will include:
Home Run Derby X: The Cage
A live baseball experience that uses augmented reality to blend real life and virtual gameplay. Over the course of the weekend, MLB Legends, local stars, and the general public will step up to the plate. Staged in a purpose-built batting cage and played in a mixed reality world.
Skills challenges
Batting cages and pitching tunnels will give fans the chance to show off their baseball skills.
Game screenings
Live broadcast of St. Louis Cardinals vs Chicago Cubs at London Stadium on 3 large outdoor screens.
The Ballpark Experience
A festival of American food with a bar service will be operated by Feast-It, with Mondo Brewery providing custom brews from St. Louis and Chicago.
Merchandise
Fans will have the chance to pick up Exclusive MLB World Tour: London Series merchandise, headwear from all 30 teams and a limited-edition t-shirt line produced in collaboration with Champion.
The entire Trafalgar Square Takeover event is a non-ticketed, free-to-attend event, open to one and all. If you are going to the game, make it a pre-game starter. Otherwise, there will be few options to watch the game better than in the heart of London itself.