Before you read on
- When you race
- 2–6 December 2026
- How many nights to book
- 2 nights
- Who this race suits
- A first Hyrox, and anyone within a train ride of London
- Nearest airport to the venue
- London City (LCY), 15 min by DLR
- Cost for the weekend
- £325 to 530 (USD 413 to 672) per person, excluding your travel to London
On this page
Should you race here?
This is the largest Hyrox field in the world, which decides most of what the weekend is like. More atmosphere and more people around you at your pace, but also longer queues at every stage and a venue that empties in the evening.
Reasons to
- The largest field in the sport. Whatever your pace, there are people around you.
- Trains stop at both ends of the building. No transfer to get wrong on race morning.
- Reachable by train from most of Britain, and from Paris, Brussels and Amsterdam.
- More hotels within a short walk than almost any other venue has.
Reasons not to
- Big fields mean queues. At registration, at bag drop, and on the floor.
- London in December gets dark around half past three, and Royal Victoria Dock is exposed water on three sides. Expect 4 to 8°C (39 to 46°F) and wind.
- Royal Victoria Dock is a business district. It empties at six.
- Staying central costs you 45 to 60 minutes each way instead.
Conditions on the day
Amazon HYROX London runs December 2nd, 2026 to December 6th, 2026 at ExCeL. Here is what that specific window is like on the ground.
The catch
7h 52m of daylight
07:59 to 15:51
sunrise to sunset, the shortest days of the year
- An afternoon wave means arriving and leaving in the dark
- Your shakeout has to happen between 8am and 4pm
- Inside the hall is warm and dry regardless, so dress for the walk from the DLR
- Roughly 53mm of rain across 16 days: persistent drizzle, not downpours
- Humidity around 80%, which makes 8°C (46°F) feel colder than it reads
- Daylight
- Dark
- Bar height is temperature
What racing here is like
Your race is here
ExCeL
December 2nd, 2026
Amazon HYROX London
- Everything below describes this building first, and the other for comparison
The venue at a glance
- Address
- ExCeL, 1 Western Gateway, Royal Victoria Dock, London E16 1XL
- Nearest station
- Custom House and Prince Regent, the Docklands Light Railway stops at either end of the hall (0 min)
- Parking
- Yes, paid parking at ExCeL. It fills early, so pre-book if you are driving. Most people take the Docklands Light Railway instead, which stops at both ends of the hall.
- From the nearest hotel
- 4 min walk from Aloft London Excel
- Altitude
- 11m above sea level, low enough to make no difference to your race.
- Bag drop
- Yes, for athletes. Spectators do not get a bag drop, so anyone coming to watch should travel light.
- Supporters
- Yes, a spectator ticket is needed, and they are sold online only. They are not available at the door, so buy before you travel. A supporter who wants to come in before their check-in time can ask at the spectator desk with ticket and ID.
London has moved building, moved season, and grown from a single day into the best part of a week. Where you race, and when, changes the day more than most people expect.
ExCeL, your race is in this building
A vast exhibition shed out east in Royal Victoria Dock, reached by the Docklands Light Railway and surrounded by very little.
Known for. Sheer scale. At 40,664 m² it is one of the largest covered event spaces in Britain, and it hosted the boxing, judo, taekwondo, wrestling and weightlifting at the 2012 Olympics.
The building. Royal Victoria Dock opened in 1855 on the Plaistow Marshes. It was the first dock built for steamships and the first with hydraulic cranes, and for a century it was where Britain unloaded the world. It closed in 1981. The hall you race in stands on the quayside it was built to serve.
Our record of this city is incomplete. Editions we know happened but do not hold: November 2022 at ExCeL; November 2023 at ExCeL; May 2025 at Olympia.
Race day and start times
The thing that shapes your travel is not the race date. It is when you find out what time you are racing on it.
Hyrox publishes a provisional schedule early, and it is for planning only. Your own start time goes up about three days before the event. Once a time is assigned it cannot be changed, and the event page does not say how you will be told when yours appears.
What to bring
Before you race you must check in at the venue on the day you compete. You cannot send someone else: London’s event page says nobody may check in on another athlete’s behalf. Bring a physical photo identification. A photo of it on your phone is not accepted. That is unusual, and it catches people out. Early registration and race-day registration times are both listed as to be confirmed, so check the event page before you travel.
You do not bring a timing chip. You collect the ankle strap and chip at registration, wear it on your right ankle, and hand it back in the finish area after you cross the line.
What your wristband does not cover
You are given two wristbands at registration: an athlete wristband and a venue-access one. They admit you on the day you race and no other. Coming back on a different day needs a spectator ticket, and so does anyone watching you. Neither covers the Elite Series races, which are sold separately.
Getting there on the morning
The Elizabeth line and the Docklands Light Railway are the quickest ways in. Custom House serves the west entrance and Prince Regent the east, so check which end your hall is at before you set off. Canning Town Underground is about a 20 minute walk. Use it if the DLR is disrupted.
What you need to book
Before you book
Arrive at least one full day before you race. Your start time is confirmed only about three days beforehand and could fall early in the day. Flying in on race morning risks missing your wave, and a wave cannot be changed once it is assigned.
If Hyrox cancels or postpones the event, its terms do not cover your flights or your room. Check the cancellation deadline on both before you pay for either.
Flying into the city
Five airports serve London and City is nearest the dock, so pick before you book the room.
Search flights to LondonBy train
Check train times and faresSomewhere to stay
The closest beds go first, and those are the ones that matter on race morning.
Compare hotels near the venueSomething to do with the rest of the weekend
Most people fly in for one race and see nothing. The day before is dead time if you do not plan it.
Tours and tickets in LondonSomewhere to put your bag
Flying out the same evening? This is the difference between a good afternoon and hauling a kit bag around a city.
Left luggage in LondonYour entry
Sold by Hyrox, one ticket per division per day. We earn nothing from this link and include it because you need it.
Official Hyrox entriesEstimate weekend cost
| Item | Local currency | USD |
|---|---|---|
| Race entry | £105 to 145 | $133 to 184 |
| Two nights nearby | £180 to 320 | $230 to 406 |
| Travel within the city | £20 to 30 | $25 to 38 |
| Spectator pass, each | £20 to 35 | $25 to 44 |
| One athlete plus one supporter | £325 to 530 | $413 to 672 |
Getting to London
London is easy to reach, and the venue is easier than most: the Docklands Light Railway stops at either end of the hall. Here is how to get into the city, and how to reach ExCeL once you are here.
Arriving from elsewhere in the UK
Every British railway line eventually points at London. For most of England and Wales the train beats flying once you count the airport at both ends. Book early. An advance single bought weeks ahead costs a fraction of the same seat on the day, and the cheap ones go first. All the main terminals connect to the venue in under an hour.
Arriving from abroad
Flying in from outside the UK? Sort your data before you land. You will want maps, your start time and your ticket barcode the moment you clear the airport. Hunting for wifi with a kit bag is nobody’s idea of a good start.
Entry requirements
Rules depend on your passport, and the pages below hold the current version. Nothing here replaces checking them.
Quick tip
You do not need an Oyster card. Touch your own bank card or phone on the yellow reader going in and again coming out, and it charges you the cheapest fare for the day by itself.
Getting to the venue
ExCeL sits in Royal Victoria Dock, east London, a long way from the centre. Good news on race morning, worth knowing before you book in Soho and commit to an hour each way at 6am.
The Docklands Light Railway is the only sensible way in. Driving to ExCeL means paid parking and the chance of the Blackwall Tunnel deciding your morning for you.
Where to stay
The dock empties after work. Stay by the venue and you can walk to your wave, but the evening is a hotel bar. Stay central and you get London, plus 45 to 60 minutes each way on race morning. Canary Wharf is the middle: twenty minutes on the light railway, and somewhere to eat afterwards.
Open in Google Maps · Get directions
1. Aloft London Excel
The closest bed to the east entrance, with a pool. Four minutes door to door, which on race morning is the only statistic that counts.
2. Novotel London Excel
Sits at the west end by Custom House station, so it suits you if your division starts from that side of the hall.
3. Sunborn London
A superyacht permanently moored in the water opposite the hall. It is a strange and rather good place to wake up, and the novelty survives the night.
4. DoubleTree by Hilton London Excel
East end, a little further out, and usually cheaper than the two nearest when the hall is full.
5. ibis London Excel-Docklands
The budget option that is still a walk. Small rooms, fine beds, and you are not paying for a view you will not look at.
6. Good Hotel London
Also floating, on the south side of the water, and it trains and employs people who have been out of work. Worth knowing where the money goes.
December fills early in London and the dock hotels take the overflow from whatever else is on in the hall. Book before the race sells out, not after.
Neighbourhoods worth the commute
The dock empties after work. If you are staying more than two nights, or anyone is coming with you who is not racing, sleep somewhere with an evening.
| Area | To the venue | Why | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canary Wharf | 20 min by light railway | Towers, covered shopping, a proper choice of restaurants, and the roof garden. | Comfort without the commute |
| Greenwich | 15 to 25 min | A village with a park, a market and the Observatory. Pretty, and the best value near the venue. | Bringing family |
| Shoreditch and Liverpool Street | 30 to 40 min | The best eating and drinking in east London, and a direct train most of the way. | Making a weekend of it |
Eating before and after
The night before a race is not the night for the best meal of your trip, which is harder discipline than it sounds in a city this good at food.
Market Hall Cargo, Canary Wharf
A shed on the water with a dozen open kitchens, which solves the problem of five people wanting five different dinners. Order rice or pasta from one of the counters and save the burgers for after.
Zero Sette, Warehouse K
An Italian kitchen five minutes from the west entrance, in the old warehouse by the dock. Plain pasta the night before is the correct order and this is the closest place that cooks it properly. Order it with tomato or olive oil rather than cream.
Dishoom Canary Wharf
Excellent, rich, and the wrong thing the night before. Keep it for after you finish, when a plate of black dal and a naan is the best thing in London. Book before you travel.
Those are the safe choices near the venue. What follows is what people come to London for, and it belongs after you finish rather than the night before.
M. Manze, Tower Bridge Road
Pie, mashed potato and a parsley sauce called liquor, in a tiled shop that has barely changed in a century. It is plain, cheap and filling. Order it with liquor once, even if once is enough.
Beigel Bake, Brick Lane
A bagel shop that has never closed, in the literal sense: it trades around the clock and has for decades. Salt beef with mustard and a pickle is the order, and it costs very little.
Race day supplies
The practical failures that spoil a race weekend are almost never the training. They are forgetting the gels, or carrying a kit bag around a city for six hours.
Pack list
- Registration confirmation with its barcode, on your phone and printed
- Photo ID
- The gels you train with
- Shoes you have raced in
- Grip socks, if you use them
- A warm layer for before and after
- A change of clothes, including dry socks
- A small towel
- Tape or plasters for hands and heels
- A refillable bottle
- Something to eat within the hour after you finish
- A contactless card
Quick tips
- The hall is warm and the walk from the station is not. People start cold because they packed for indoors.
- Check in person, with ID. Nobody can collect your pack for you, and your ticket only works on your own race day.
- One contactless card covers every train, bus and tram. Do not buy a travel card for a weekend.
- Hotels check out at eleven and races run into the afternoon. Booked bag storage near Custom House covers the gap, from about £1.50 (USD 2) a bag a day.
We do not have a verified sports nutrition shop near the venue. If you found one open and useful on race weekend, tell us and we will credit you.
The last race in London
Only the most recent edition is covered. Older reports describe a different course and a field a fraction of the size.
What happened
The last edition, in short.
- Hyrox called it the largest event it has staged anywhere: more than 40,000 athletes across four days, from 4 to 7 December.
- ExCeL ran the UK first indoor single-lap running course, one long circular loop rather than repeated short laps, to improve flow and sightlines at that field size.
What it means for you
How your race differs from that one.
- With a field this size your check-in window and your wave matter more than usual. Arrive for your own slot, not for the day.
- The venue is a long way east. Budget for the light railway both ways rather than finding out on race morning.
What else is on that weekend
Checked against your race dates, not the month.
| What | When | Where | What it means |
|---|---|---|---|
| FinTech Connect | 1 and 2 December | ExCeL London | Over 5,000 delegates in the same building as your race sets up. Hotels near the dock will be fuller and dearer on the Tuesday night. |
What to see
Written for someone racing tomorrow, not a tourist with a week. Each entry says how far it is, because some of these are worth a longer trip and some are not.
The Royal Victoria Dock footbridge
Step out of the hall and the water is right there, with a high footbridge crossing it. From the top you can see the whole dock, the cranes still standing along the quay, and the towers at Canary Wharf behind them. The cranes are the thing to look at. This was the largest enclosed dock in the world. Ten minutes, free, and it explains the venue.
IFS Cloud Cable Car
It looks like a fairground ride and works as public transport, which is a very London arrangement. Ten minutes, ninety metres up, across the Thames to the Greenwich Peninsula. You get the whole river bend, the dock, the towers and the Dome from above. Sitting down. The day after a race, that last part matters.
The Royal Observatory, Greenwich
Greenwich is where Britain decided what time it was. The Observatory sits at the top of the park with the meridian line running through the courtyard. Below it, the Cutty Sark is in dry dock with her hull exposed, and the Painted Hall at the Old Royal Naval College is the finest ceiling in the country. The hill is steeper than it looks. Leave this for the day after.
What to do
Crossrail Place Roof Garden, Canary Wharf
There is a point in a December afternoon, about half past three, when the light goes and London turns into a city of lit windows. The roof garden sits on top of the station at Canary Wharf, under a long timber lattice, planted with things that have no business surviving this far north. It is free. It is roofed but open at the sides, so it is shelter and not warmth. Somewhere to sit between arriving and racing that is neither a hotel room nor a shopping centre.
Up at The O2
A walkway stretched over the roof of the O2, climbed in a harness with a guide. It ends on a platform fifty-two metres up, looking back at Canary Wharf and the river. Ninety minutes, and more of a walk than a climb. One cable car stop from the venue.
Raced here? Tell us about it.
Anything you wish you had known. It goes into this guide for the next person, and most of them have never done a Hyrox.
Things people find useful
- How early you really needed to arrive
- What caught you out
- What the hall was like inside
- Where your supporters watched from
- Anything good you did in the city
Not affiliated with, endorsed by or connected to Hyrox. HYROX is a trademark of its owner, used only to describe the races discussed.
This page links to booking and travel sites. Where we have an affiliate arrangement with one we may earn a commission if you book through it, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we list, or the order it appears in.
Last updated November 7th, 2026.