Record 1.3m apply for 2027 London Marathon ballot

Key developments are emerging from the global stage. New ballot world record for 2027 London Marathon Image source, Getty Images Image caption, A record 59,000 people took part in the 2026 London Marathon By Ffion Wynne Sport Journalist Published 5 May 2026, 06:14 BST Updated 6 minutes ago A record number of people have applied to participate in the 2027 London Marathon via the public ballot. In total, 1,338,544 people have applied for the event which will take place on 25 April, breaking last year's record of 1,133,813. The 2026 marathon had a record 59,830 finishers and was the biggest annual one-day fundraising event in the world.

"This astonishing total of applicants firmly establishes London as the world's most sought-after marathon," said Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events. "Nothing else comes close. Our mission is to inspire people of every age and ability to get active - and these extraordinary numbers show the massive draw and power of the London Marathon.

The Details

" The ballot results will be released early in July, with places allocated through a random draw. It is the first time that more than a million applications from the UK alone have been submitted, and there was near parity in male and female registrations. At last weekend's historic event, Kenya's Sabastian Sawe ran the first sub-two-hour marathon in a competitive race, and Ethiopia's Tigst Assefa broke her own women's world record.

Organisers look at expanding event to two days The possibility of holding the 2027 London Marathon across two days - Saturday and Sunday - is still being explored. Speaking to Breakfast on Tuesday, Brasher said he hoped it would be confirmed by the end of May. "This is for one year only.

We are engaging, and have been engaging for a long time, with a lot of stakeholders," he said. "Rightly, they want us to go through a process to ensure what we do is appropriate. People will get disrupted - it's never happened before on a Saturday.

What Experts Say

"There are lots of plans and mitigations that we've got and we would have do some unique things. "But I think this shows the desire, the need, for the country. More than £400m of economic and social benefit would happen as a result of the two days, and we believe more than £150m would be raised for charities.

"It would be a one-off. We hope to get there - we're not there yet. I'm positive it's the right thing to do.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.