London Stadium is the home of West Ham United, a 62,500-capacity arena in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford in east London that was built for the 2012 Olympics and has been the club's home since 2016. Demand for London Stadium tickets is shaped by a big-city club with a huge support, now playing in the Championship for the 2026-27 season after relegation from the Premier League, along with the major athletics meetings, concerts and other events that fill this landmark Olympic venue. The stadium, once known simply as the Olympic Stadium, keeps its running track and its vast cantilever roof, and it sits at the heart of one of the great regeneration projects in Europe. 1BoxOffice is a verified secondary marketplace established in 2006, with seat-level detail at checkout and a 150% money-back guarantee if a ticket fails to grant entry on matchday.
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This guide is written for the supporter making the trip, not the browser. It covers the walk through the Olympic Park from Stratford, how the stands are arranged around the Billy Bonds home end, where away fans sit, the sightlines created by the athletics track, the bag rules and the entry process, the bars and food of Stratford and Westfield, and the story of an Olympic stadium turned football ground. By the end you should know how a London Stadium matchday runs.
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | London Stadium, the former Olympic Stadium |
| Location | Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, London |
| Capacity | 62,500 for football |
| Opened | 2012, West Ham moved in 2016 |
| Architect | Populous |
| Surface | Desso GrassMaster hybrid pitch |
| Home Club | West Ham United |
| Home End | Billy Bonds Stand, the loudest side |
| Feature | Retractable seating over an athletics track |
| Nearest Station | Stratford, a major transport hub |
London Stadium sits in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford in east London, one of the best-connected spots in the capital, reached through the park from the huge Stratford transport hub. The great advantage of the ground is the wealth of public transport at Stratford, so almost everyone arrives by train, Underground or the DLR, then walks through the Olympic Park to the stadium. It is an easy trip from central London and beyond, with the walk through the park part of the matchday.
Stratford station is the main gateway, a major hub served by the Central and Jubilee Underground lines, the DLR, the London Overground, the Elizabeth line and national rail, so it connects to almost everywhere in London and the south-east. From Stratford it is a walk of around fifteen to twenty minutes through the Olympic Park to the ground, a route often compared to Wembley Way. Stratford International, a short walk away, is served by fast trains from St Pancras in around seven minutes, another quick option.
Hackney Wick station on the Overground serves the western side of the park and the ground, a useful alternative to Stratford, while Pudding Mill Lane on the DLR is also close by. The walk to the stadium runs through the Olympic Park past the Aquatics Centre and the other legacy venues, a well-signed and pleasant approach that is part of the experience. Whichever station you use, the final stretch is on foot through the park, so allow time on a busy day.
Many London bus routes serve Stratford and the surrounding area, dropping supporters within reach of the park, and the ground is walkable from the wider Stratford district and Westfield. The Olympic Park itself is a large, open, pedestrian-friendly space, so moving around on foot is easy. Because so much transport converges on Stratford, combining a train or Underground with the walk through the park is the standard approach.
Driving is discouraged, as the stadium is designated a public-transport destination with no general matchday parking and residents' restrictions around the park. The Westfield Stratford City shopping centre offers paid parking nearby, but it is limited on a busy matchday and event day. With the wealth of public transport at Stratford, driving makes little sense, and the club and the venue strongly encourage supporters to travel by train, Underground or the DLR rather than by car.
Parking at London Stadium is deliberately limited, as the ground is a public-transport destination with no general stadium car park and residents' parking schemes around the Olympic Park on matchday. The main option is the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre car park, at a set matchday rate, but it fills quickly for a big fixture or event and is not guaranteed. Given that Stratford is one of the best-connected transport hubs in London, with Underground, DLR, Overground, the Elizabeth line and national rail all converging there, arriving by public transport is far easier than driving. Drivers who must come should use the Westfield car park or a park-and-ride further out and travel the last stretch by train.
London Stadium is a large oval bowl built for athletics, so it retains a running track around the pitch, and although the lower tier is brought forward on retractable seating for football, the sightlines are a genuine consideration, with some upper-tier seats set well back from the play. The stands are named after West Ham legends, with the Billy Bonds Stand the main home side, the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand and the Bobby Moore Stand at the ends and the West Stand reconfigured to bring supporters closer. The best views are in the lower tiers and the front of the upper tiers, so seat choice matters more here than at a compact football-specific ground.
The Billy Bonds Stand along one side is the largest stand, holding over twenty thousand, and it is the main home area and the loudest part of the ground, where the most vocal West Ham support gathers. This is the section to target for the fullest atmosphere, and the club has worked to concentrate the noisiest supporters here to build the matchday feel in a big bowl. The lower tier of the Billy Bonds Stand is the closest the home crowd gets to the traditional atmosphere of the old Boleyn Ground.
The Bobby Moore Stand behind one goal, named after the West Ham and England captain, holds the big screen and rises in two tiers behind the net, while the West Stand along the opposite side to the Billy Bonds was reconfigured to bring the seating closer to the pitch and carries the premium and hospitality areas. These stands give good elevated views, though as with all of the ground the front of the tiers is closer to the action than the rear. The premium seats in the West Stand are the most comfortable in the ground.
Away supporters are housed in the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand at one end, in the upper and lower tiers, with an allocation of just under 3,000 for league matches and up to around 8,000 for some cup ties, a generous away following by modern standards. As a modern Olympic venue the stadium has strong accessibility provision, including wheelchair-user positions with companion spaces, accessible facilities and step-free access throughout the park and the ground, though supporters with access requirements should contact the club before the match to confirm the arrangements. The table below matches a section to what you want from the day.
| Priority | Recommended Sections |
|---|---|
| Atmosphere | Billy Bonds Stand lower, the home side |
| Tactical overview | West Stand, central rows |
| Close to pitch | Front rows of the lower tier |
| Best value view | Lower tiers or front of the upper tiers |
| Behind the goal | Bobby Moore Stand |
| Away fans | Sir Trevor Brooking Stand |
| Accessibility | Wheelchair-user bays with companion spaces (request at purchase) |
London has a mild, changeable climate, with cool winters, warm summers and rain possible in any season, so a matchday at the London Stadium can be wet and breezy as easily as bright. The ground has the largest cantilever roof of its kind, which covers the seats well and keeps most of the crowd dry, a benefit of the Olympic design, though the open bowl and the gap created by the athletics track mean wind can move through the ground. For an autumn or winter fixture a warm and waterproof layer is sensible, while the summer fixtures, athletics and concerts are usually comfortable under the wide roof.
Like other large grounds, London Stadium runs a firm bag policy with searches on entry, so the sensible approach is to travel light. Large bags and rucksacks are best left at your accommodation, since oversized bags are refused and there is no guarantee of a bag store. Standard prohibited items apply, including bottles, cans, outside alcohol, pyrotechnics and flares, and any object judged dangerous. The concourses take card and contactless payment. Check the club's or the event's matchday guidance for the current bag size limit before you travel, and arrive early to clear the search on a busy day, particularly for a big concert or athletics meeting.
The great advantage of the London Stadium for food and drink is the huge Westfield Stratford City shopping centre right beside the Olympic Park, with a vast choice of bars, restaurants and cafes, along with the wider offer of Stratford and the pubs of east London. The park itself has some bars and food outlets on a matchday, so the build-up is well served.
Westfield Stratford City, one of the largest shopping centres in Europe, sits between Stratford station and the Olympic Park, with a huge range of bars, restaurants and food outlets that fill with supporters before a match. It is the natural place to eat and drink on the way to the ground, covered and convenient, with everything from pubs and sports bars to international restaurants. The Cow at Chestnut Plaza in the park is a popular spot for supporters, and there are bars and food stalls around the park itself.
Beyond Westfield, the wider Stratford area and the neighbourhoods of east London around Hackney Wick have a lively and growing scene of pubs, breweries and restaurants, from the traditional to the modern craft-beer bars of Hackney Wick, a short walk from the western side of the park. Many supporters take in the local area before or after the match, and the mix of the big shopping centre and the independent east London scene gives plenty of choice. The area has changed hugely since the Olympics.
Inside the arena the concourses are modern and serve the usual English matchday and event fare, with card and contactless payment throughout, and the concourses are wide given the size of the ground. As a large venue the queues can build at half-time, so timing helps. For a fuller meal, use Westfield or the Stratford bars and restaurants beforehand, where the choice is far greater, then walk through the park to the ground.
West Ham and the stadium use digital ticketing, so for most fixtures and events the ticket sits in your phone wallet or an app and is scanned at the turnstile. Load the ticket, charge your phone and turn the screen brightness up before you reach the entrance, since a saved screenshot can fail to scan when a barcode refreshes. Gates open ahead of kick-off to let the crowd in, and with a bag search and a crowd arriving through the park from Stratford at once, the entrances get busy in the last half hour. Aim to be at the ground in good time rather than joining the final rush through the park, particularly for a big fixture, concert or athletics meeting.
Leaving the ground means walking back through the Olympic Park to Stratford, where the wealth of transport carries the crowd away quickly.
Most supporters walk back through the Olympic Park to Stratford station, around fifteen to twenty minutes, for the Underground, DLR, Overground, Elizabeth line and national rail services in every direction. The park and the station are busy immediately after a sell-out, so either move quickly with the first wave or give the crush a few minutes to clear before setting off. The sheer number of transport options at Stratford means the crowd disperses quickly once you reach the station, one of the ground's best features for getting away.
Hackney Wick and Pudding Mill Lane offer alternatives to Stratford for those on the western side of the park, spreading the load, and Stratford International gives a fast route back towards St Pancras. Few drive to the ground given the transport, so the walk through the park to a station is the near-universal way out. The well-lit, signed routes through the park make the journey straightforward even after an evening fixture.
The natural way to end a matchday is to stop in Westfield or head into Stratford or Hackney Wick for the evening, with a huge choice of bars and restaurants on the doorstep. The simplest way to beat any post-match crowd is to let the first wave clear before heading back, then enjoy the local scene. The regenerated Stratford area, with Westfield and the east London bars, makes for an easy end to the day.
The stadium was built as the centrepiece of the 2012 London Olympics, opening in 2012 and hosting the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics, when it became one of the iconic images of a hugely successful Games. Designed by the architects Populous, it was always intended to have a legacy use, and after a long process West Ham United were chosen as the anchor tenant, moving in for the 2016-17 season from their historic Boleyn Ground at Upton Park after more than a century in east London. The ground is owned on behalf of London through the stadium company, with West Ham as tenants on a long lease, an arrangement that has drawn debate over the years.
The stadium kept its athletics track as part of the Olympic legacy, with retractable seating brought forward for football, and it has continued as a major athletics venue, hosting the 2017 World Athletics Championships and the annual London meeting on the international circuit. It has also staged Major League Baseball's London Series, rugby and concerts by some of the biggest names in music, making it one of the leading multi-event venues in the country alongside its role as a football ground. The move gave West Ham a far larger home than the intimate Boleyn Ground, with the atmosphere taking time to build in the big bowl.
On the pitch West Ham enjoyed some of their best modern seasons at the ground, qualifying for Europe and winning the Europa Conference League in 2023, the club's first major trophy since the 1980 FA Cup, with the European nights among the highlights of their time at the London Stadium. In sporting terms, though, the club was relegated from the Premier League at the end of the 2025-26 season, so West Ham begin the 2026-27 campaign in the Championship, aiming to return to the top flight, a setback for a club with a large and loyal support.
The stadium's history, verified by contemporary records, spans sport far beyond football. Its defining moments came at the 2012 Olympics, when it hosted the ceremonies and the athletics, including golden nights for the host nation, and it has since staged the 2017 World Athletics Championships. For West Ham, the highlights have been the European nights on the road to the 2023 Europa Conference League title and the big Premier League occasions against the leading clubs and the London rivals. The ground has also hosted Major League Baseball and major concerts, giving it a broad and unusual history for a football stadium.
London Stadium remains a modern, large-capacity venue with a busy future as both West Ham's home and one of the country's leading stages for athletics, concerts and events. In football terms the near-term focus is on West Ham's effort to return to the Premier League from the Championship, while the ground continues to host the annual athletics meeting, concerts and occasional baseball and other events through the year. The retractable seating and the multi-event design mean the stadium is likely to remain one of the busiest large venues in London, and its Olympic legacy role continues to shape its calendar alongside the football.
As a stadium built for the 2012 Olympics, London Stadium has strong accessibility provision designed into a modern venue, including wheelchair-user positions with companion spaces, accessible facilities and step-free access throughout the Olympic Park and the ground. The exact number and location of accessible spaces are set out in the club's and the venue's access information, so supporters with access requirements should contact them well before the match to confirm the available seating, arrange any companion ticket and check the route through the park. The step-free routes from Stratford and the level approach through the park make reaching the ground more manageable than at many older stadiums.
With West Ham in the Championship for the 2026-27 season, the fixtures that move London Stadium tickets fastest are the promotion-race matches and the London derbies within the division, as a big club with a large support competes to return to the top flight. The full home programme sits on the West Ham United tickets page, where the fixtures are listed as they are confirmed. The recent past shows the demand history, from the European nights that brought the Europa League tickets and the Conference League title to the ground, to the Premier League seasons and the fierce London derbies against clubs such as Arsenal and Chelsea, all part of the wider Premier League tickets story the club now aims to rejoin, along with the club's long FA Cup tickets heritage. The stadium also draws big crowds for its athletics meetings and concerts, which sell independently of the football. Secondary-market prices move with demand, so treat any figure as indicative rather than fixed and buy early for the standout occasions.
1BoxOffice is a verified secondary marketplace that has operated since 2006, showing seat-level detail before you pay and backing every order with a 150% money-back guarantee if a ticket fails to grant entry on matchday. The eight steps below cover the process from finding a fixture to tracking your order.
Step1
Find the fixture
Go to the London Stadium listing on 1BoxOffice and select the match or event you want. Each fixture shows the available stands, rows and current pricing before you commit to a seat.
Step2
Check the seat detail
Use the stand and price filters to compare sections. Seat location and row are shown against the venue layout, so you can weigh the Billy Bonds home side against a central West Stand seat, and favour the lower tiers for the best view.
Step3
Confirm the supporter section
Make sure the block matches who you are travelling with. Home and visiting-supporter areas are listed separately, and away fans are routed to the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand at one end.
Step4
Review before checkout
Check the delivery method and the kick-off time against your travel plans. League and cup kick-off times can shift with broadcast scheduling, so verify the date and time before you book travel or a hotel, especially for a fixture that may be moved for television.
Step5
Create your account
First-time buyers should create an account to complete checkout and receive the ticket. Returning customers simply log in. An account keeps your order and delivery details in one place.
Step6
Complete payment
All major credit and debit cards are accepted. The 150% money-back guarantee applies automatically to every order if the ticket fails to grant entry on matchday.
Step7
Receive your ticket
Tickets for West Ham fixtures and stadium events are typically issued digitally. Keep the live ticket in your wallet or the relevant app ready to scan, and avoid relying on a saved screenshot that may fail at the turnstile.
Step8
Track your order
Follow delivery status and manage your booking through track order. Digital tickets arrive ahead of the match so you can travel with everything ready.
London Stadium makes an easy football and events trip, set in the regenerated Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park at Stratford, one of the best-connected parts of London and a short ride from the centre. Fly into any of the London airports and reach Stratford by train, Underground or the Elizabeth line, then walk through the park to the ground. Base yourself anywhere in central or east London, since Stratford is so well connected, and remember that West Ham begin the 2026-27 season in the Championship after relegation, so check the fixture and the competition, and that the ground is an athletics stadium with the seats set back a little, so the lower tiers give the best view. The stadium and the surrounding Olympic Park make for a rewarding day out.
With London offering so much to see, many supporters build a longer trip around the match. If you are lining up other fixtures, the football tickets hub, the wider football tournaments calendar and the venues tickets directory show what else is on, while tournament travellers follow the World Cup tickets hub. In and around Stratford, the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park with its ArcelorMittal Orbit tower and the Aquatics Centre, the vast Westfield shopping centre, the bars of Hackney Wick and the wider sights of London all reward a matchday trip to the east of the city.
London Stadium holds 62,500 for football, one of the largest club grounds in England, expanded from 60,000. It is a former Olympic stadium with an athletics track, so retractable seating is brought forward for football, and the best views are in the lower tiers. It also hosts athletics, concerts and other events at varying capacities.
West Ham United begin the 2026-27 season in the Championship, the second tier of English football, following relegation from the Premier League at the end of 2025-26. It means home fixtures are Championship matches rather than the top-flight games of recent seasons, so check the competition when buying, as the club aims to return to the Premier League.
Take the train, Underground or DLR to Stratford, a major hub on the Central and Jubilee lines, the DLR, Overground, Elizabeth line and national rail, then walk fifteen to twenty minutes through the Olympic Park to the ground. Stratford International, Hackney Wick and Pudding Mill Lane are alternatives. The wealth of transport at Stratford makes it very accessible.
The stadium is a public-transport destination with no general matchday parking and residents' restrictions around the park. The Westfield Stratford City shopping centre offers paid parking nearby, but it fills quickly. With Stratford one of the best-connected hubs in London, arriving by train, Underground or DLR is far easier than driving.
Yes, though members and season-ticket holders get first access, and West Ham retain a large support even in the Championship, so the biggest fixtures can sell out. Public sales for remaining tickets can be limited, which is why a verified secondary marketplace is often the realistic route for visitors, with seat detail shown before you pay.
Travel light, as large bags and rucksacks are refused and there is no guarantee of a bag store. Expect a search at the entrance. Bottles, cans, outside alcohol, pyrotechnics and flares are prohibited. The concourses take card and contactless payment. Check the club's or the event's matchday guidance for the current bag size limit before you travel.
The Billy Bonds Stand, the largest stand along one side, is the main home area and the loudest part of the ground, the section to target for the fullest atmosphere, with the noisiest support in its lower tier. The West Stand and the Bobby Moore Stand are calmer, and the lower tiers everywhere give the best view over the athletics track.
Away supporters are housed in the Sir Trevor Brooking Stand at one end, in the upper and lower tiers, with an allocation of just under 3,000 for league matches and up to around 8,000 for some cup ties. The allocation varies by fixture, so away fans should check the details for their specific game and follow the guidance issued with the ticket.
To a degree, yes. As a former Olympic stadium the ground keeps an athletics track, so there is a gap between the pitch and the stands, and the rear of the upper tiers is set back from the play. Retractable seating brings the lower tier forward for football, and the lower tiers and the front of the upper tiers give the best views, so favour those when choosing a seat.
Gates open ahead of kick-off to let the crowd in, typically around an hour and a half before the match. With a bag search and a crowd arriving through the park from Stratford at once, the entrances get busy in the last half hour, so aim to arrive in good time. The precise opening time is confirmed with your ticket or event details.
The concourses serve the usual matchday and event fare, with card and contactless payment. The big draw is the Westfield Stratford City shopping centre beside the park, one of the largest in Europe, with a vast choice of bars and restaurants, plus The Cow in the park and the growing bar scene of nearby Hackney Wick and Stratford.
West Ham moved to the London Stadium in 2016, for the 2016-17 season, from their historic Boleyn Ground at Upton Park after more than a century in the area. The ground had been built for the 2012 Olympics, and West Ham took it on as anchor tenant, gaining a far larger home than the intimate old Boleyn Ground.
Yes. London Stadium was built as the Olympic Stadium for the 2012 London Games, hosting the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics. After the Games it was converted for legacy use, keeping its athletics track, and became the home of West Ham United in 2016, while continuing to host major athletics, concerts and events.
Championship prices at West Ham are more affordable than the top flight, with reasonable face-value tickets, though the biggest home fixtures and derbies still draw a strong crowd at a ground of this size. Athletics and concerts are priced separately by the event. Secondary-market prices move with demand, so treat any figure as indicative rather than a promise.
Anywhere in central or east London works, since Stratford is so well connected by the Underground, Elizabeth line and rail. Staying near Stratford itself puts you beside the ground, Westfield and the Olympic Park, while the centre of London is a short ride away on the Central or Jubilee line or the Elizabeth line for the trip to the stadium and back.
West Ham and the stadium issue tickets digitally, so the barcode sits in your phone wallet or an app and is scanned at the turnstile. Charge your phone, turn up the screen brightness and load the ticket before you arrive. A saved screenshot can fail to scan when a barcode refreshes, so rely on the live ticket in the app.
It is best known as the centrepiece of the 2012 London Olympics, host of the ceremonies and the athletics, and now the home of West Ham United. It is one of the country's leading multi-event venues, staging the World Athletics Championships, the annual athletics meeting, Major League Baseball and major concerts as well as football.
The ground sits in the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, with the ArcelorMittal Orbit tower and slide, the Aquatics Centre and the parkland to walk, plus the vast Westfield Stratford City shopping centre beside it. The bars of Hackney Wick and the wider sights of London are close by, so there is plenty to build a day around.
Yes. As well as West Ham home fixtures, the London Stadium hosts the annual London athletics meeting on the international circuit, has staged the World Athletics Championships and Major League Baseball's London Series, and holds major concerts by some of the biggest names in music. It is one of the busiest multi-event venues in the country.
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Sources: West Ham United (whufc.com), London Stadium event and access information, Transport for London, football ground guides, and Premier League, EFL and stadium reference records. Information was gathered in July 2026 and may change; check sources for the latest details. 1BoxOffice is not affiliated with West Ham United or the London Stadium. All trademarks belong to their respective owners.