London Stadium seeks concerts to cut £19m losses

London Stadium has submitted plans to reduce the number of sports events it hosts and increase the number of concerts to tackle its financial losses.

A spokesperson for the venue said the cap on sporting events would allow it to host more major non-sporting events and would have "no impact on West Ham matches".

Lyn Garner, who chairs London Stadium LLP, said it lost £19m every year because of the long-term deal signed with West Ham over the use of the London Stadium, which is owned by the Greater London Authority.

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has previously criticised the 99-year deal, which has no break clause for City Hall, blaming his predecessor for failing to obtain better terms.

Garner said that the stadium's annual losses had been in the "ballpark" of £19m for "some time", but 2025/26 had been a "particularly bad year for London Stadium, with only two summer concerts".

She added West Ham's relegation to the Championship meant it would pay less than half the £4.6m annual rent it paid in the Premier League.

Under the current planning permissions, the stadium can host up to 10 non-sporting events and 87 sporting events each year. The proposed changes would increase the number of concert days to 24 and reduce the number of sporting events to 70.

A spokesperson told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "There is no impact on West Ham matches or their capacity. West Ham are entitled to play matches at the stadium as per the concession agreement".

West Ham United declined to comment.

As part of the changes to its planning conditions, London Stadium will also seek a new noise limit for concerts.

Currently, noise is capped at 75 decibels for six of its permitted annual events and 65 decibels for the remaining four, measured 3ft (1m) from nearby buildings considered to be "sensitive receptors".

The stadium wants the cap to be 75 decibels for all concerts it hosts, saying this would allow it to compete with Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium which have "more lenient dB limits".

London Stadium intends to submit a planning application changing the conditions this month.

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