Henley Regatta may move to Dorney Lake

Henley Royal Regatta, one of the highlights of the British summer, is in doubt after the regatta’s stewards announced yesterday afternoon that it could not take place on the planned dates of June 29 to July 4 at Henley-on-thames.

Organisers are looking at moving it to high summer, or possibly switching it to Dorney Lake. A final decision will be made by the end of next month.

“The timing of the easing of current lockdown restrictions and a safe return to the staging of large-scale outdoor events remain highly uncertain,” said a statement. “In particular, it has become increasingly apparent that we cannot start the installation of the course and the construction of the site in March with a reasonable expectation that it will be possible to stage a regatta starting on June 29.”

The infrastructure of the Royal Regatta is built from scratch each spring, from the wooden booms which protect racing boats from the wash of passing vessels, to the elaborate offices, grandstands, boat tents and catering facilities for athletes and spectators.

Lion Meadow, the riverbank home of the Regatta since its inaugural event in 1839, is an empty field every winter, and work to fill it would normally have been due to start within weeks.

The riverbank at Henley is widely accessible to the public and impossible to control even during a pandemic, creating, as the stewards pointed out, “a level of operational and public health risk that would be unacceptable”.

The regatta’s committee of management is now considering two main options: a standard river Regatta at Henley from Tuesday Aug 10Sunday Aug 15, or moving it to Eton College’s private Dorney Lake (used for the 2012 Olympics) on unconfirmed dates in August.

The first of these would allow the annual build to start five to six weeks later, by which time many more of the population will be vaccinated. The second option provides a venue easily secured.