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Major League Baseball (MLB) has announced that the London Series will return in 2023, featuring the Chicago Cubs and St Louis Cardinals.
The two-game series will be held at the London Stadium on 24th and 25th June, marking MLB’s second staging of regular season matches in the UK, after the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox also played two fixtures at the same venue in 2019.
The return to London comes after a break enforced by the pandemic, with MLB belatedly signing a long-term partnership with the UK capital in May to host a series of international games and events in the city.
Next year’s London Series will make up part of the MLB World Tour, the North American-based baseball league’s largest ever international schedule. Some 24 regular season fixtures and up to 16 exhibition games will be held in overseas markets across Asia, Mexico, Latin America and Europe until the end of the 2026 season under the plans.
Both the Cubs and the Cardinals have previously been involved in international fixtures, with the Cardinals facing the Cincinnati Reds in Monterrey, Mexico in 2019. The Cubs meanwhile have played in Tokyo in 2000 and in Puerto Rico in 2003.
“The Cardinals-Cubs rivalry is one of the best in sports, and it will be exciting to bring it to Europe for a new audience to experience,” said William DeWitt Jr, chairman and chief executive of the St Louis Cardinals.
“I have no doubt that the passionate sports fans in London will love these games and we look forward to creating some new Cardinals fans overseas.”
Tom Ricketts, executive chairman of the Chicago Cubs, added: “The MLB London Series between the Cubs and Cardinals has been in the works for years now and we’re thrilled to finally be able to bring one of baseball’s biggest rivalries to fans abroad in 2023.
“We hope that this series not only excites and entertains but brings more international sports fans to the game we all love.”
Ahead of next year’s London Series, MLB has hired CSM Sport and Entertainment to oversee the event’s marketing, ticket strategy, venue operations, and the fan experience on both game days.
CSM were previously involved in delivering the 2019 series, and will once again partner with the London Stadium and Greater London Authority.
