Rugby World Cup 2015(18 September-31 October 2015)
The world’s third largest sporting event, Rugby World Cup, is coming to England in 2015, giving fans the perfect excuse to take a road-trip around the country. The tournament lasts six weeks, allowing visitors to discover and explore the best of the 10 host cities including: London, Brighton, Gloucester, Leeds, Leicester, Newcastle, Milton Keynes, Birmingham, Exeter and Manchester. Fans can also watch every scrum, kick and try at one of the specially created ‘fanzones’, before celebrating their team’s victory (or commiserating their failure!) with some live entertainment post-matches.
40th Anniversary of the inaugural Cricket World Cup (7 June 2015)
It doesn’t get more English than a genteel game of cricket unfolding on a village lawn. Invented in England in the 16th century, the game’s first World Cup was hosted in England in 1975. The inaugural tournament started on 7 June and eight teams participated, including Australia, England, India, New Zealand, Pakistan, and the West Indies (the six Test nations at the time), together with Sri Lanka and a composite team from East Africa. The tournament is a key milestone in the evolution of the sport and was won by the West Indies, who defeated Australia by 17 runs in the final at Lord’s.
Today, get to the heart of the game on a tour of Lords cricket ground in north London where fans can visit the MCC Museum and have tea and cucumber sandwiches in the historic Long Room. The Museum’s collection, which began in 1864, spans the full history of cricket from its emergence as a major sport in the early 18th century, to the modern age of Twenty20 and the IPL. Its most famous exhibit is the original Ashes urn, a personal gift to then England captain the Hon. Ivo Bligh.
Women’s and Men’s Boat Races Combined (11 April 2015)
In a revolutionary move that breaks with 183 years of history, the Women’s Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge will achieve equal billing with the more famous men’s event in 2015 as the two events are combined. The women’s event, which has previously taken place at Henley-on-Thames, will move to the traditional race location of Tideway in 2015.
For more big events happening across England, visit www.visitengland.com.
To explore England further, book a tour through tnttoursearch.co.uk/England
