2023 has been a remarkable year of live events. During the height of the summer season we witnessed an Ashes series for the ages, saw the dawn of a new era in men’s tennis at Wimbledon and created electric atmospheres during headline concerts at Wembley Stadium.
Now while the summer months are behind us, there is still plenty to look forward to before the year is out and heading into 2024…
Festive winter football in the Premier League
After taking its annual backseat during the summer, the Premier League season is back underway and gathering steam.
Champions Manchester City will be wanting to lead from the front once again this season as they look to win their fourth straight title. Arsenal, Liverpool and Manchester United will be amongst the usual suspects fighting for that top spot during the winter, while Chelsea will be wanting a vast improvement on what was a disappointing season by their standards last time out.
When the schedule is released for the new season one of the first dates that immediately draws attention is the iconic Boxing Day fixtures in the Premier League. This year Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester City all play fixtures in front of their own fans on Boxing Day in what promises to be a festive schedule full of twists and turns.
Here are just some of the other unmissable fixtures over winter period to pencil into your diary…
Weekend of 4 November – Tottenham v Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Weekend of 11 November – Chelsea v Manchester City, Stamford Bridge
Wednesday 6 December – Manchester United v Chelsea, Old Trafford
Weekend of 16 December – Liverpool v Manchester United, Anfield
Weekend of 23 December – Liverpool v Arsenal, Anfield
NFL touches down in London
The end of the summer also marks the start of the National Football League (NFL) season. This year fans in the UK have three games to look forward to when NFL teams comes to London once again to entertain fans.
The Jacksonville Jaguars will kick off the NFL London Games 2023 when they take on Atlanta Falcons in front of over 80,000 fans at Wembley Stadium. The next two fixtures – involving the Buffalo Bills, Tennessee Titans and Baltimore Ravens – will both be held at the newly built Tottenham Hotspur Stadium where fans will be immersed in an authentic NFL experience involving pre-game activities, stalls and American themed food and drink options.
Following the international series, all roads will then lead to the Allegiant Stadum, Paradise, Nevada for Super Bowl LVIII. Scheduled for Sunday 11 February, the championship deciding showdown is one of the key dates on the global sporting calendar and without doubt will be an unmissable show again in 2024.
Sunday 1 October – Jaguars v Falcons, Wembley Stadium
Sunday 8 October – Bills v Jaguars, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Sunday 15 October – Titans v Ravens, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium
Sunday 11 February – Super Bowl LVIII, Allegiant Stadium
England head to India to defend their Cricket World Cup title
If you were hooked on thrills of The Ashes and The Hundred this summer, then you are in luck! The next major cricket event is just around the corner with the best 10 teams in the world all heading to India for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup in October.
Running all the way from 5 October through to 19 November, the tournament takes place in a round robin set up where every team will play each other once, resulting in the top four placed teams heading to the semi-finals before the winners make it through to the final hosted at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad – the largest cricket venue in the world.
Led by Jos Buttler, England will be one of the favourites again but will be met by the fierce challenge of India on home soil, Australia and Pakistan in their quest to retain the World Cup trophy for another four years.
Tennis season concludes for the winter in Turin
Previously hosted at The O2 Arena, the Nitto ATP Finals offer a compelling conclusion to the tennis season this winter.
The best eight players in the world get invited to compete in Turin for the final piece of silverware of the season. Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic have dominated the scene so far this year, picking up several major honours between them and locking horns in a final on Centre Court at Wimbledon that will live long in the memory.
With the end of year number one spot also up for grabs between the world’s best players, the Nitto ATP Finals will be a truly compelling way to end what has been a fantastic year of tennis in 2023.
Following the end of the season, we can also begin to turn our attention to tennis coming up in 2024. Here are some of the key dates in the UK grass court season next summer…
June 17-23 – cinch Championships
July 1-14 – The Championships, Wimbledon
Crunch time in the Formula 1 season
The Formula 1 season enters the decisive part of the season in the winter with plenty of historic venues set to stage races before the season is out.
Following trips to Mexico City and São Paulo, the race heads stateside for the Heineken Silver Las Vegas Grand Prix on a brand new street circuit. Expect famous faces, incredible landmarks and thrilling speeds on the Las Vegas strip.
The season will then conclude in Abu Dhabi on 26 November – the setting of Max Verstappen’s first ever Championship victory over Lewis Hamilton.
Since that famous race in 2021 the Dutch driver has looked unstoppable. He will be hoping to arrive at the Yas Marina Circuit unharmed to secure what will be a third title in a row, while the likes of Fernando Alonso, Charles Leclerc and George Russell will be looking to rain on his parade during the final few months of the season.
November 16-18 – Las Vegas Grand Prix
November 24-26 – Abu Dhabi Grand Prix
Darts fans descend on Alexandra Palace this winter
All eyes will be on Ally Pally once again for the Worlds Dart Championship, where spectators marvel at the best players in the world within an atmosphere unlike any other.
Since moving to North London, the World Championships has been an iconic event on the UK sporting schedule each winter and will take place this year between 15 December – 3 January.
Last year Michael Smith beat three-time champion Michael van Gerwen in an incredible final which produced some unforgettable moments that got everyone engulfed in the drama and excitement of the sport, and we should expect more of the same when the darts arrives in London again this December.
NBA Paris Game to take place in January
Since 1990, the NBA has been taking regular season matches outside the United States and Canada as part of the leagues Global Games series.
Having successfully hosted several games in Mexico City and London, the league will now return to Europe to play it’s third regular season game at the Accor Arena in Paris. The Milwaukee Bucks and the Chicago Bulls won the first NBA Paris Games in 2020 and 2023, showcasing the world class talent within the NBA to the rest of the world.
On 11 January, the NBA Paris Game will feature a must-see clash between the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Brooklyn Nets, pitching together some of the best players in the world for fans in the French capital.