Stuart WoodMajor League Baseball (MLB) has launched a new festival, London Yards, to celebrate all things baseball.
The event will take place over three days in Shoreditch’s Truman Brewery, from 28-30 June. It will align with the Mitel & MLB present London Series between the Boston Red Sox and the New York Yankees, which will take place at London Stadium on June 29-30.
Agency Imagination is partnering with MLB to bring the event to life, building upon its 2017 MLB Battlegrounds campaign, and aiming to raise the profile of baseball in Europe.
London Yards will be free to attend, and aimed at a new generation of fans. Attendees can watch the Mitel & MLB present London Series games live, pick up a bat and play interactive games, eat, drink and shop.
DJs will be playing music inspired by Boston and New York and MLB will have exclusive merchandise on sale from partners including New Era, Champion and ’47.
In addition to showcasing MLB’s Home Run Derby VR video game experience, London Yards will also debut a newly designed immersive baseball experience – an illuminated batting cage where players aim to hit home runs via a tracking system from MLB’s partner Hittrax, which visualizes the results in real-time.
Charlie Hill, vice president of International Strategic Development at MLB said: “The UK is passionate about the thrill of sports and competition, and the popularity of US sports within the UK is at an all time high.
“We want to give audiences and crowds the experience they deserve if they were unable to get a ticket to see the action on-field. We’re thrilled to show a London audience why baseball is a sport they’ll love and Imagination are the perfect partner to do this with.”
Jiri Bures, creative director at Imagination said: “Entering a new market, MLB are conscious to not take audiences for granted. In the age of Netflix and instant on-demand content, eyeballs need to be earned by offering genuinely engaging experiences.
“Our London Yards concept for MLB takes the incredibly rich cultural aspects of baseball and turns it into the kind of new, exciting real-life experience that will truly grow people’s passion for such an amazing sport.”