Olympia London

Olympia in Kensington, London, opened on 26 December 1886 as the National Agricultural Hall, built as a large indoor exhibition space rather than a purpose-built sports arena. In modern operation, it is run as a commercial events venue; recent ownership has been held by an investment partnership led by Yoo Capital and Deutsche Finance International, with ASM Global selected as the venue’s operator.

At its opening, it was known as the National Agricultural Hall. At the same time, “Olympia” was the public-facing name used from the outset and remains the core venue name in sport and boxing records. In the modern era, “Olympia London” has been used as the brand name for the venue and its redevelopment. Its primary use has consistently been exhibitions, conferences and large public events, with the halls periodically configured for major sporting shows.

In professional boxing, Olympia’s verified history appears in distinct bursts rather than a continuous weekly trade. On 7 July, 1914, billed as Olympia, Kensington, London, Freddie Welsh outpointed Willie Ritchie over 20 rounds. On 18 April, 1991, at the Olympia Grand Hall, London, Chris Eubank stopped Gary Stretch in six rounds to retain the WBO middleweight title. The venue returned to world-level billing on 11 March, 2000, recorded as Olympia, London, when Naseem Hamed halted Vuyani Bungu in four and retained the WBO featherweight title. On 4 December, 2009, listed as Olympia, London, Gavin Rees beat Colin Lynes on points over three rounds to win the Prizefighter light-welterweight final. On 30 April, 2011, logged as Olympia, Kensington, Darren Barker outpointed Domenico Spada over 12 to win the vacant EBU European middleweight title. On 4 February 2017, recorded as London Olympia, Chris Eubank Jr stopped Renold Quinlan in ten rounds to win the IBO super-middleweight title.