Enjoy a Grandstand View of the Oxford v Cambridge Boat Races

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Bridge closed on Saturday but fan parks open in Furnivall Gardens and Bishops Park

University crews pass underneath Hammersmith Bridge. Picture: Tom Koch

March 25, 2024

The annual Oxford v Cambridge Boat Races are back on the Thames on Saturday 30 March, and our borough offers two of the best places to catch all the action.

Hammersmith & Fulham Council says that following expert safety advice to avoid congestion, Hammersmith Bridge will be closed to pedestrians, cyclists and e-scooters from 10am to 5pm.

However, viewers can gather at two family-friendly fan parks in Hammersmith’s Furnivall Gardens and Bishops Park at Fulham Football Club’s Riverside Stand.

The women’s race starts at 2.46pm, with the men’s - now in its year 169th - at 3.46pm.

The Hammersmith Fan Park, open from 11am till 6pm, is located at the two-mile mark, the midpoint of the 4.25-mile race. There will be a big screen by the river with live BBC coverage from 2pm. There will be food, including burgers, tacos and crepes, along with drinks from three bars and a coffee cart. Seating and toilets will also be available.

In Fulham, fans will get their first chance to experience Fulham FC’s new riverside walk, under the new Riverside Stand, as it opens for the day. It will be part of the Fulham Fan Park, open from 11am till 6pm, with a big screen in Bishops Park offering live BBC coverage from 2pm.

The Fulham Brass Band will play in the park from 12pm, and there’ll be an array of street food on offer along Fulham FC Riverside, as well as drinks from two bars and other refreshment stations. Seating and toilets will also be available in the park.

Ahead of the Boat Races, spectators are also invited to the first ever Youth Boat Race, taking place this Tuesday (26 March), staged on the same stretch of water, with mixed crews from seven schools from west London competing to win medals.

Mixed crews of boys and girls will take part in the first race of the day at 11.45am, pitting the rowers of Cardinal Vaughan in Holland Park against Aldridge Academy of North Kensington.

The second race, at 12.45pm, features mixed school and gender crews from Sacred Heart High School, Hammersmith; Hammersmith Academy; Fulham Boys’ School; West London Free School; and Holland Park School.

Spectators are encouraged to gather downstream of Putney Bridge for the races, which will be rowed over the first part of the Boat Race course on a low-water flood tide, umpired by rowing legend Sir Matthew Pinsent and Judith Packer, who is umpiring at the 2024 Olympics.

Hammersmith & Fulham Mayor, Cllr Patricia Quigley, will present the medals at Thames Rowing Club on Putney Embankment.

The event is a joint enterprise between Fulham Reach Boat Club and the charity arm of the annual Oxford v Cambridge races. The Boat Race Fund, which works closely with youth clubs along the river course, is paying for the event

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