London Youth Games Foundation set for spectacular finale weekend
Following the success of last year’s Finals Festival, which brought together 5,130 people, this weekend’s event will welcome thousands of young people from across the capital. As the culminating weekend of the season, the Finals Festival aims to provide inclusive, empowering and memorable moments for every participant. This celebratory weekend follows a full season of sport events uniting all 32 boroughs and the City of London in friendly competition.
The action kicks off on Friday and runs through Sunday across some of London’s most iconic sporting venues:
Friday:
A range of School Games at the Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre will engage schools across London, including:
- LYG Adapted Schools Sports Festival – A pan-disability, inclusive sports event featuring 30-minute taster sessions in various adapted and Para sports.
- LYG Hockey Skills Festival – An inclusive and non-competitive introduction to hockey.
- LYG Primary Golf Festival – A festival focused on fun, skill-based activities designed to build confidence, particularly for children who are new to the sport.
- LYG Rugby T1 Competition and Activation – An introduction to a Tag-T1 Rugby format through friendly match play for pupils in Years 5 and 6.
Saturday:
Our biggest day of the weekend features competitions across two Olympic venues alongside a family-friendly festival that is free and open for all to attend:
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LYG Community Sports Festival – A free, drop-in festival open to all. Visitors can enjoy a range of activities including a circus workshop, crazy golf, smoothie bikes, face painting, live music from a steel band, a DJ and announcer and a boxing arcade machine. (Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre)
- LYG Boys Hockey Competition (Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre) – Around 280 young U14 players will represent their boroughs, building confidence and community pride through a series of fast-paced matches.
- LYG Table Tennis Competition (Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre) – Around 240 young participants will come together to compete in a round-robin tournament featuring doubles, 2v2, and 1v1 games.
- LYG Road Cycling Competition (Lee Valley VeloPark) – Around 220 young riders from across the capital will represent their boroughs in an exciting day of racing, featuring road races and Individual Time Trials (ITT).
Sunday:
The final day of the season with highly-competitive days across two venues:
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LYG Girls Hockey Competition (Lee Valley Hockey and Tennis Centre) – Over 290 young participants will come together to compete in fast-paced matches in a thrilling round-robin hockey tournament.
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LYG Basketball Finals Competition (Crystal Palace National Sports Centre) – The top four boys and girls teams from the Basketball Qualifiers will go head-to-head in a competitive tournament, battling to be crowned London’s champions.
The London Youth Games has a rich history, originally founded in 1977 as a youth multi-sport inter-borough competition in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Silver Jubilee. The very first edition was held at the Crystal Palace National Sports Centre with 14 sports. Today, the exact same blueprint of multi-sport, inter-borough competition exists.
Since 1977, LYG has given life-changing opportunities to 2,094,004 young Londoners. Its prestigious alumni include sporting legends such as Sir Mo Farah, Dina Asher-Smith, Alex Yee, Christine Ohuruogu MBE, David Weir CBE and Chloe Kelly MBE.
The upcoming 50th anniversary of the London Youth Games in 2027 represents a once-in-a-generation opportunity to celebrate five decades of youth participation and borough pride across London, while continuing to strengthen public awareness and civic pride for the next generation of talent.
Support the future of the Games by considering donating to ensure we can support thousands more young Londoners through the power of sport.