Sadiq Khan wants London to host Super Bowl despite 3:30am finish time
The Mayor has said he wants to make London the 'sporting capital of the world'.
Sadiq Khan has said he wants London to host NFL Super Bowl and a slate of other major sporting events.
The Mayor told The Athletic he wants London to become "the sporting capital of the world", hosting the showpiece American football event, as well as Wrestlemania and boxing bouts like Anthony Joshua against Daniel Dubois.
During his campaign to get re-elected, the 53-year-old also said London would bid for the 2040 Olympics.
Despite the obvious excitment attached to hosting the Super Bowl, there is a glaring issue with the idea.
Despite attracting a global television audience the majority of viewers are obviously in the United States. The game normally kicks off at 6:30pm on the US east coast, and if organisers were to ensure that Americans could watch at the usual time, it would mean the four-hour event finishing at 3:30am in London.
Speaking on May 30, Mr Khan said: "I want (Anthony) Joshua and (Daniel) Dubois to take place in London. I want international WrestleMania taking place in London.
"The Super Bowl is really important for us. We have a number of American football games and I want it to come here because we want American sports fans in Europe to come to London to watch them, not just go to America."
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Tonight, supporters of Spanish giants Real Madrid and German underdogs Borussia Dortmund will descend on Wembley, something the Mayor relishes.
“This weekend we’re going to have tens of thousands of Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund fans here,” Khan said.
“It contributes more than £50million towards our economy, our hotels, our restaurants, our theatres. These events bring people together.”
However, Mr Khan acknowleged that sporting events in London haven't always gone off without a hitch. In 2021, England played Italy in the final of the Euros, where widespread disorder gripped the capital. Fans stormed Wembley and in response the security measures were questioned.
“Dame Louise Casey very kindly agreed to chair a committee to look at what went wrong, what we could do to improve it,” Mr Khan said. “The FA deserve credit for investing more than £5m pounds improving the turnstiles. We have 1500 more stewards, we have 500 volunteers, we’ve got extra police.
“It’s really important that the people who come to London this weekend come to enjoy the football, come to enjoy the festivities but don’t come here to cause a nuisance.
“The FA, the police, Wembley stadium, UEFA, all of us have worked really hard to make sure this is a peaceful, successful event.”
