Dream of catching a Major League Baseball game just two hours from Paris? Home runs and hotdogs are on the menu for the London Series this coming weekend!
To boost baseball’s popularity in Europe, MLB launched the London Series in 2019, hosting two regular-season games in the UK capital over a weekend.
The inaugural event featured a blockbuster clash between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.
The COVID-19 pandemic put the series on hold, but the action returns to London in 2023, giving European fans another chance to experience MLB action live.
If you’ve got your tickets, you’re in for a treat: the St. Louis Cardinals and the Chicago Cubs face off on June 24th and 25th, 2023.
While MLB has staged games abroad before, this was the first time the league brought its regular season to Europe. The financial stakes are high, with MLB hoping to grow its European fanbase. While ticket prices won’t break the bank, the league is banking on long-term growth. Right now, baseball remains a niche sport in Europe, despite the occasional Yankees cap spotted on the streets.
The goal is clear: make baseball a must-see spectacle. The action kicks off Saturday at 3:00 PM, with a second game Sunday at noon—both at London Stadium, just 30 minutes from St. Pancras International, the Eurostar terminal. Tickets start at around €100 per game on the official site.
The field will be larger than the one used in 2019, which saw a home run bonanza: two extra meters of outfield and four-meter-high walls.
A recent BTVF poll shows French baseball fans are ready to travel in force. The same was true in 2019, when 60,000 spectators were treated to a spectacle that included giant karaoke sessions, mascot races, and rousing renditions of the US and UK national anthems. On the field, Game 1 nearly became the longest in MLB history, clocking in at 4 hours and 42 minutes. The Yankees prevailed 17-13, with six home runs clearing the fences! Boston couldn’t avenge their loss in Game 2, falling 12-8.
Here’s hoping 2023 delivers the same thrills. Our special correspondents will be there, and we’re counting on you to flood social media with stories from the action.
MLB deserves praise for bringing the big league experience to Europe without requiring a transatlantic flight. Rumor has it Paris could host the next edition—perhaps as early as 2025 at the Stade de France! So if you’re heading to London, don’t forget to wave the French flag and make some noise!
Thomas Houlez
