The Oxford boat lags behind the Cambridge boat during The Cancer Research UK Boat Race on 27 March 2016
Hammersmith & Fulham Council will play host to two spectacular Boat Race parties on Sunday (2 April).
You can watch the start of the races from Bishops Park in Fulham, and see the middle of the races from Furnivall Gardens in Hammersmith. The fun starts at noon and runs until 6.30pm, with big screens, bars, food and funfair attractions – run by Southwold brewery Adnams – helping to create a memorable day out.
“There is no better place to watch the boat races than from Bishops Park and Furnivall Gardens,” said Cllr Wesley Harcourt, H&F Cabinet Member for Environment.
“The parties on Boat Race day raise invaluable funds that we use to improve our many award-winning green spaces. It’s just one part of our effort to become the greenest borough in the country.”
The Cancer Research UK Boat Races pull in around 250,000 spectators along the riverside watching from riverside pubs and other buildings with Thames views, while millions more will be following every stroke on BBC One.
The action starts at 4.35pm with The Cancer Research UK Women's Boat Race, followed by the women’s reserve race (the Osiris Blondie Race) at 4.50pm.
The men’s reserves from Oxford and Cambridge race against each other at 5.05pm (the Isis-Goldie Race), with the main event, The Cancer Research UK BNY Mellon Boat Race, starting at 5.35pm.
With 79 Boat Race victories to 82, Oxford will be hoping to bounce back this year to help narrow Cambridge’s winning margin.
In the women’s event, Cambridge has a more secure lead (41 wins to 30).
The men’s race began in 1829, when it was actually staged in Henley. But every race after that has used the Thames in London; a course now so familiar to worldwide television audiences. The first women’s race was held in 1927.
This will be the 163rd Boat Race from Putney to Mortlake. Those hardy souls who took part in the first event in June 1829, when George IV was on the throne and George Stephenson’s Rocket steam locomotive was beating all rivals in speed trials, would be bewildered by the modern spectacle.
