The Chap Olympiad
Hooraaahh for Eccentic Sporting!
Running annually from 2005, The Chap Olympiad has become Britain’s most eccentric sporting event, attracting Londoners to this now famous ‘celebration of athletic ineptitude and immaculate trouser creases’. Welcoming only the elegant and unathletic, the Chap Olympiad is a delightful day of themed sporting events, live music, side shows and refreshments.
All Olympiad guests and participants are encouraged to wear period dress, in the past ranging from Victorian explorers to flappers and Second World War RAF pilots. The event takes place in Bedford Square; a beautiful Georgian Square in Central London, lending a leafy backdrop to this eye-catching spectacle. In true Chap style, the Olympiad is designed to reward panache rather than sporting prowess, and requires the minimum of physical exertion. Events are designed to separate the chaps from the cads with gentlemen (and ladies!) competing to win the coveted bronze, silver and gold cravats or take a self-congratulatory puff of the Olympiad pipe.
Events include:
Martini Knockout Relay
Teams of four must mix a perfect dry martini (without the aid of a butler), over a gruelling tenyard course, to be judged by a connoisseur
Cucumber Sandwich Discus
Individuals must hurl a cucumber sandwich on a china plate as far as possible, points are
deducted for getting mud in the sandwich
Moustache Wrestling
The bearded versus the moustachioed, the object of this event is to pluck a single hair from one’s opponent’s facial plumage
Necktie Kwon-Do
A duel to the death (of one’s immaculate knot) with ties, where the object is to garrotte one’s opponent with his own neckwear
Umbrella Jousting
In the medieval tradition, chaps on bicycles, with only bowler hats for protection, approach each other along a boundary before using their brollies to knock each other off.
Bounders
A chap must say something so caddish to a lady that he receives a slap. The cad with the reddest face, but the wryest smile, is the winner.
All Olympiad guests and participants are encouraged to sport period dress and fully immerse themselves in the event’s old-fashioned activities and charming entertainment. Expect radio plays, country fair side shows and old fashioned lawn games, such as a coconut shy, boules, and hoopla. Big bands, quartets, piano players and cabaret singers also provide live music.
Bourne and Hollingsworth provide their trademark classic cocktails, alongside beer, wine and soft drinks for thirsty guests. Food is served all day, from luncheon to supper. Munch heartily on sandwiches and hog roast, take afternoon tea with home-made cakes and delicacies, or snack on ice cream and other typically chap-like fodder.
London Events Calendar – Unusual London Events
For tickets please visit - The Chap Olympiad
