London Marathon expansion plan
Organizers are in advanced talks to split the 2027 London Marathon across two days to host up to 100,000 runners — a move driven by demand after 1.1 million public ballot entries for 2026 and aimed at boosting fundraising impact ( ).
Plans circulating would run the event across Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April 2027 with separate fields of about 50,000 runners each and the elite men’s and women’s races staged on different days. (marathonhandbook.com) Organisers point to unprecedented demand after a public-ballot record of 1,133,813 applicants for the 2026 race (up from a previous record of 840,318), which campaigners say has made the one-day format increasingly difficult to satisfy. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) The move is explicit about fundraising scale: the 2025 race raised a record £87.3 million for charity, and organisers have modelled that a two-day festival could lift total fundraising for a single edition to more than £130 million. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) London Marathon Events declined to formally confirm the plan when approached, and chief executive Hugh Brasher issued a guarded response rather than a denial; Brasher has been LME’s chief executive since June 2024 after serving as event director. (marathonhandbook.com) Local stakeholders along the route — including residents and businesses in Greenwich and Blackheath — have reported being left without detailed briefings about the potential extra day of closures and spectator pressure. (greenwichwire.co.uk) The proposal remains unapproved and under discussion with key partners such as City Hall and transport authorities; organisers say further planning and formal sign-off will be required before any 2027 changes are confirmed. (nytimes.com)
