Preparations underway for the British Open at The SSE Arena, Wembley

The British Open will be held across two days on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th of July. This will be the first major judo event to be held at The SSE Arena, Wembley and will see judo competition returning to a prestigious London venue following the 2012 Olympic Games.

The SSE Arena, Wembley, has a rich sporting background, playing host to boxing, diving, swimming, and water polo at the 1948 Olympic Games, as well as badminton and rhythmic gymnastics in at the London 2012 Olympic Games. The venue has also previously hosted Masters Snooker and Premier League Darts.

Kerrith Brown, British Judo Chairman said: “We’re delighted to be holding the British Open at The SSE Arena, Wembley. The British Open is one of our main events this year, and is a significant event in the history of British Judo.

“Moving this event from its previous venue to a prestigious venue like The SSE Arena, Wembley says a lot for the direction we would like the British Open to take.  The British Open used to be one of the biggest events in the judo calendar and we would like to get it back to that. This is a long term aspiration for the Association, in future years we hope to be looking at the British Open in the same way we look at the Paris Grand Slam now.

“The opportunity for our athletes to compete and for the British judo family to watch our sport in an arena of this size and standing over the next five years, is something that I’m really excited about. I hope that the judo family will be out in force to support our British athletes and to experience the festival of judo we’re going to be putting on.”

John Drury, General Manager of The SSE Arena, Wembley added: “We are delighted to be working with our partners at British Judo to host the British Open Championships for the next five years at The SSE Arena, Wembley. The arena and AEG have a proven history of delivering world-class sporting events and we look forward to growing this event into a permanent fixture on the sporting calendar.”

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