The annual UEFA Champions Festival will take place in London on 23–26 May 2013, it was formally announced today. 

UEFA is inviting fans and families to visit the festival and take part in a series of free activities including the opportunity to have photos taken with the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Women's Champions League trophies.

Festival attendees will also have the chance to visit the UEFA Champions League museum to experience all the memories of past tournaments. Children will be able to take part in a variety of skills clinics and coaching courses put on by professional coaches throughout the week.

Festival ambassadors, including former England players Faye White and Steve McManaman, will be on hand to meet and greet the fans, who will also be invited to participate in an exciting schedule of entertainment hosted by UEFA Champions League partners.

The festival will open on Thursday 23 May running through to Sunday 26 May, following the UEFA Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 25. The festival will include one of the most popular events of the week, the Ultimate Champions Match, which will feature a number of UEFA Champions League greats of years gone by. 

Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: "We are delighted that the UEFA Champions Festival is returning to London and especially that it will take place on the International Quarter close to Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, the scene of our biggest sporting moment. It will provide a fantastic week-long family event and will revive the spirit of community and celebration that made last year's Olympic Games so special."

UEFA Champions League final ambassador Steve McManaman said: “Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the Stratford area came alive in the summer for London 2012 and UEFA is very proud to bring the annual UEFA Champions Festival to such a fantastic facility and offer an event that gives both parents and children the opportunity to celebrate football in a truly spectacular venue with free admission for all. We expect everyone will be blown away by the amazing multi-event entertainment programme on offer.”

Mark Dickinson, managing director of development at Lend Lease, said: “The International Quarter will become a vibrant new commercial hub for London. We are looking to attract early investment in the form of exhibitions and events this year and are delighted to work with organisations such as UEFA to ensure benefits from these events spread beyond their boundaries to communities in the surrounding areas.”

Further details regarding the exciting events on offer to fans during the week of the festival will be released in the coming weeks.

For further information please visit www.uefa.com.

Only one year after the London 2012 Olympic Games, world-class triathlon will return to London's Hyde Park.

London will host the PruHealth World Triathlon Grand Final London this September as the likes of Olympic Gold Medalist Alistair Brownlee and his younger brother, the reigning World Champion Jonathan, battle for the World Championship title.

The public ballot has now opened for the Open Age Race, providing the unique opportunity to finish on the same line as the Olympic Champions at the London 2012 triathlon venue.

Taking place over 3 and 4 August 2013, Prudential RideLondon is a world-class cycling festival featuring a series of events for amateur, club and world elite cyclists.  The event, developed by London & Partners, is set to become the largest mass participation fundraising cycling event in the world and is predicted to create a major boost in cycling numbers, whilst attracting thousands of visitors to the capital. 

Six months to the day since she won her second gold medal in the Velodrome, Laura Trott joined the Mayor of London and the Leader of Surrey County Council to announce the routes for the RideLondon-Surrey 100 and RideLondon Classic. The group were joined by Tidjane Thiam, CEO of Prudential who confirmed Prudential UK would be the event’s title sponsor. 

Lord Coe, the UK’s legacy ambassador, also attended the event to lend his support to the event which is one of many major events delivering on London’s promise to ensure a legacy for the capital from the Games.

On Sunday 4 August and a week after its reopening, 20,000 riders will depart from the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park before meandering past London’s famous landmarks and over the rolling hills of Surrey via Richmond Park before returning to the capital to finish on The Mall.

Although the ballot for the Prudential RideLondon–Surrey 100 has now closed, it’s not too late to be a part of the nation’s most eagerly anticipated cycling event with a number of charities still advertising places. There is also the option of riding as part of a team in the Business Relay, where up to 500 teams of four riders will cycle around 25 miles each.  Details of charity places and how to take part in the Business Relay are on the Prudential RideLondon website.

Registration is still open for the Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle, an eight-mile mass participation ride for cyclists of all ages and abilities, from young families to keen amateur enthusiasts. Free to enter Prudential RideLondon FreeCycle,  aims to encourage all those inspired by the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games to take up cycling as part of an active, healthy and sustainable lifestyle and is expected to attract 50,000 participants.

For fans of cycling, the event will also showcase the international men’s elite in the Prudential RideLondon-Surrey Classic in what is soon to become an annual fixture in the UCI’s official race calendar. Spectators will also get to see the world’s best women, hand-cycles and junior cyclists in action in the Prudential RideLondon Grand Prix.

International promotion associated with the two day festival will attract hundreds of thousands of spectators, global TV audiences and substantial economic benefits. It will provide a long term source of income for investment into improving conditions for cycling in London and provide opportunities to channel people to other cycling initiatives.

Prudential RideLondon is an annual world-class festival of cycling developed by the Mayor of London, London & Partners and Transport for London in partnership with Surrey County Council.  The event is managed by the London & Surrey Cycling Partnership (LSCP).

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After staging one of the best and most talked about Paralympic Games in history this summer, it was today announced that London will become the first city to host the IAAF World Athletics Championships and the IPC Athletics World Championships side-by-side in 2017.

The 2017 IPC Athletics World Championships will be held in July 2017 at the Olympic Stadium, just a month before the same venue plays host to the IAAF World Athletics Championships.

There's also more great news for the Paralympic Legacy with the ITF NEC Wheelchair Masters Series confirmed for London 2014-16. This will be hosted at the Lee Valley Tennis Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

London is bidding to host the IPC World Athletics Championships in 2017, which would see the world's greatest Paralympians return to the Olympic Stadium. 

London is already hosting the IAAF World Athletics Championships in August 2017 and, if successful in the bid, London would be the first city to host the two championships side by side.

The city is also bidding for the 2016 European Swimming Championships and the ITF NEC Wheelchair Masters Series 2014-2016. If successful, these events will see world-class events hosted at the Aquatics Centre and Lee Valley Tennis Centre in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park.

The Barclays ATP World Tour Finals will be played at The O2 in London until 2015 following a hugely successful event this year with the largest number of spectators ever.

The event is incredibly popular. More than one million fans have watched the world's best eight singles players and doubles teams since the Barclays ATP World Tour Finals first came to London in 2009.

London has won the title of Sport City Award at the 2012 International Sports Event Management Awards for the second year running, beating off competition from cities such as Melbourne and Manchester.

SportCal has also announced that London is the Global Sport City 2012, ahead of Rio de Janeiro and Moscow, according to a new report that analyses the success of cities in attracting major sports events.

Earlier this year, London won SportBusiness Ultimate Sport City, cementing its position as the world’s leading major events destination.

The city already has an action packed calendar for 2013 including 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, 2013 Euroleague Final Four (basketball), 2013 ITU World Series Grand Final, 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the 2013 NFL International Series Games and 2013 ATP World Tour Finals.

London will host two NFL International Series Games at Wembley Stadium in 2013. 

The capital will see the Minnesota Vikings take on the Pittsburgh Steelers on 29 September. The Jacksonville Jaguars and the San Francisco 49ers will then play on 27 October. 

Season tickets for the two games go on sale on 4 December. Check www.nfluk.com for details.

This year's NFL International Series Game saw Wembley Stadium packed with more than 84,000 fans and a record 44,000 fans at the Trafalgar Square Fan Rally.

Following the hugely successful Olympic Games and the record-breaking Paralympic Games, we are delighted to announce an action-packed calendar of major events happening in London later this year and in 2013.

Events include the 2012 NFL International Series Game, 2012 ATP World Tour Finals, 2013 UEFA Champions League Final, 2013 Euroleague Final Four (basketball), 2013 ITU World Series Grand Final and 2013 Rugby League World Cup.

Find out more below:

2012

September

London Fashion Week
London Design Week

October

NFL International Series Game
56th BFI London Film Festival
Black History Month
Frieze Art Fair

November

ATP World Tour Finals
Lord Mayor's Parade

December

New Year's Eve Fireworks

2013

February

Six Nations Internationals
Chinese New Year in London

March

Six Nations Internationals
Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race
St Patrick's Day celebration

April

London Marathon
St George's Day celebration

May

2013 Euroleague Final Four (basketball)
UEFA Champions League Final
UEFA Champions Festival

June / July

Taste of London
Wimbledon Championships
Shubbak Festival

August

RideLondon
Notting Hill Carnival
Eid Festival

September

BBC Proms in the Park
Tour of Britain
ITU Triathlon World Series Grand Final

October

NFL International Series Game
Rugby League World Cup Semi Finals

December

New Year's Eve Fireworks