Outdoor sports screens in London

Is there anything that says Quintessential British Summer more than watching Wimbledon with a Pimms cocktail in hand? We’re not sure there is. There’ll be lashings of the fruity liqueur on hand at Covent Garden’s tennis screenings this summer. Head down to the iconic Covent Garden Piazza to grab yourself a glass at The Crêpe Stop before battling it out with tourists and off-duty living statues for a striped deckchair in front of its massive outdoor screen.

As outdoor cinemas go, this scores pretty well for aesthetics. From June 30 to August 17, Screen on the Canal will be streaming a tonne of films, from family favourites to cult classics, but crucially, it’s all kicking off with Wimbledon. What better place to enjoy the tournament than from the sunny riverside? 

One of the earliest-opening and longest-running of London’s outdoor screen pop-ups, Canary Wharf’s free Summer Screens in Canada Square Park and Cabot Square will be showing all the sporting action you could possibly wish for throughout the summer, from cricket to F1, Ascot to the Olympics and, of course, tennis from Wimbledon. The area’s many restaurants and bars are on hand to keep you fed and watered.

Where better to watch Wimbledon than, well, Wimbledon? If you don’t feel like tramping around Murray Mound looking for a spare square inch of grass on which to park yourself, head to Wimbledon Piazza instead. This is a ‘no cost, no queue’ shindig, so just pull up a deckchair and catch some rays while you watch tennis titans battle it out about 1.3 miles away on Centre Court. 

Portman Square Garden’s Summer in the Square returns for its tenth year this summer, with another programme of outdoorsy summer fun including wellbeing workshops and activities courtesy of pop-up venue The Wellness Den, as well as a fully stocked bar and specially-picked street food stalls. And it wouldn’t be summer without Wimbledon. It’ll be showing all the major matches in the final week of the tournament. Expect comfy deckchairs and food from popular local restaurants on rotation in the guest kitchen.  

If you’re not keen to fork out £5,000 a night for your love of Wimbledon, keep scrolling. For five times the cost of most people’s monthly rent, the mega posh 1 Hotel Mayfair is offering personal Wimbo screenings for anyone who books into one of its suites during the tournament. Lawn chairs and a large screen will be set up on your private terrace and you’ll be spoiled with a summer BBQ, a Pimms bar and strawberries and cream to boot.

This is a perfectly posh little spot to enjoy the tennis, and much more sport, this summer. The Eccleston Yards courtyard will feature a pop-up bar, plus access to all of Belgravia’s cutesy, gram-worthy eateries. There are 100 seats available, including bean bags, deck chairs and picnic benches, and the suntrap of a site will also be showing England Test Match cricket as well as the Olympic Games throughout the summer months. 

Need a break from navigating the hordes of tourists and shoppers while doing a bit of West End retail therapy? Veer off Regent’s Street and into St James’s Market to  chill out and watch the full tournament from the comfort of a deckchair. And keep an eye out for local restaurants offering special Wimbledon deals and incentives.

Bluebird Chelsea is throwing an appropriately bougie garden party in honour of Wimbledon, with every match from day one all the way through to the finals shown in its courtyard. For the all-important refreshments, there’ll be a line-up of tennis-inspired gin cocktails; strawberries and vanilla cream will be zhuzhed up with honeycomb biscuit and mint and a ‘grand slam parfait’ has been created out of pistachio parfait, sour cherries and Dubai chocolate.

As well as putting on shows from megastars like Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and Zach Bryan, BST Hyde Park will also host Open House – an eight-day-long festival of family-friendly and mostly free events, including open air cinema screenings, bingo sessions and dance workshops. On select days, that will include screenings of Wimbledon 2025, so check the listings if there’s a particular match you’d like to watch outside of your home.

Roll down to the outdoor terrace of Soho's hidden Ham Yard Hotel for what they're calling Centre Court-Yard. Clumsy puns aside, this is a decent spot to soak up all the action, with a big screen, commentary via wireless headphones, strawberries and cream on tap and a tennis-themed afternoon tea for the real Wimbo-heads. 

Take in every backhand and ace on a 188-inch screen in Spitalfields’ Bishops Square, which will be populated by deck chairs to keep you comfy, even if the action gets a little nail-biting. The surrounding food and drink outlets will be running special promotions to keep your hunger and thirst at bay, while there’ll also be bocce lanes and dartboards at Alfi if watching the pros makes you want to get involved in something at least a little physical.

Borough Yards’ outdoor screen at Soap Yard can fit 100 people, so expect the atmosphere to be high at its Wimbledon screenings. The good news? The screen is under a railway viaduct so, should the great British weather strike, you'll be able to stay relatively dry. Get down early to nab a seat and, once you’re done, take a stroll around the shops and restaurants to round off a lovely day out.

Stop by Islington Square for free tennis screenings across the whole Wimbledon fortnight. On the weekends, there’ll be plenty of nibbles courtesy of Megan’s, OMNOM, Bewliehill, Selv Roastery and The Great Chase, and a menu of cocktails and mocktails from the Bottle Cocktail Shop (with a selection on the house with every food purchase). If your kids start to get restless by the set’s eleventh game, there’s an arts and crafts workshop where they stay occupied decorating tennis balls and colouring in.

Take a pew in a deck chair or pack a picnic and lounge on the grass alongside Paddington Basin for Merchant Square’s Wimbledon screenings. The event is free to attend throughout the tournament, but on a first-come first-served basis, so plan accordingly to avoid disappointment. Ramp up the Wimbledon vibes by tucking into strawberries and cream (or with ice cream) from nearby vendors, or take part in beach tennis from coaching club Game Set Beach on some days.