Frequently Asked Questions

If you are a private booker (not-commercial) and would like to book a grass 'pitch' on Hyde Park's Old Football Pitches to play a sporting activity with friends and family you can play for free so long as the maximum number of participants is 20, you play for a maximum of one hour, and are happy to book no more than 7 days in advance.

Park Sports will ensure that your planned event meets The Royal Park’s Guidelines. Certain types of events may also require a permission letter from The Royal Parks, which may extend the time needed to confirm the booking.

Our assessment criteria include:

• Would the event clash with any other?
• Will park conditions at that particular time of the year be conducive to holding events?
• Are the management arrangements satisfactory for this event?
• Are the Health and Safety arrangements suitable and sufficient?
• Has enough time been given from submitting the initial enquiry to the actual event date?
• Have previous events of this nature been managed satisfactorily by this organisation?
• Does the event adversely affect park users, residents, or local businesses?
• What is the environmental impact of the event?

In no particular order, we expect you to do the following:

• Put all litter into bins or take any waste away with you
• Adhere to the route and site plan agreed prior to the event
• Provide Park Sports with evidence of your competence at organising events e.g. a method statement and/or a risk assessment
• Ensure that the supervision of children participating in the event is maintained at all times by a sufficient number of competent adults
• Provide adequate stewards for the event. For example, runs, cycle rides and walks will be expected to provide stewards at road crossings
• Make all necessary arrangements for first aid provision

Everyone organising or running an event has a legal duty of care to their employees, contractors and members of the public.

The nominated organiser takes overall responsibility for the proposed event and this individual will also be the point of contact during the planning and execution of the event.

Recommended reading: The Event Safety Guide – HSE Books (1999)

The grass pitch areas cannot be used for sports other than football, softball, rounders, tag rugby, volleyball or frisbee without prior agreement from the Park Sports Hyde Park venue Manager. Balls used for softball or rounders must be ‘soft’ balls and not hard.

As per The Royal Parks bylaws, players must NOT:

• Setup any infrastructure including portaloos and gazebos unless agreed in advance with Park Sports
• Fix items to trees, railings, fences or other structures in the Park
• Drive stakes into the ground
• Cook or barbecue any food - ONLY cold food is permitted
• Light any fires e.g. flaming torches
• Provide alcohol as part of the event*
• Leave items unattended in the parks
• Let the event interfere with any other park users or obstruct other park users
• Do bucket collections or similar, i.e. solicit donations from park visitors
  
• Release balloons
• Use pyrotechnics
• Play loud music
• Use or distribute glass bottles
• Disturb any wildlife
• Drive vehicles on or carry infrastructure for the event across, the Old Football Pitches – all vehicles should park in the designated Parking (P) and (D) bays on South Carriage Drive. (Max stay: 4 hours) Commercial Vehicles are NOT permitted in Hyde Park without prior consent of The Royal Parks

*Alcoholic drinks must be available free of charge (i.e., not for sale) and can only be consumed by your guests (who must be aged 18 years or over) in accordance with the City of Westminster licensing requirements. Alcohol must only be consumed in moderation. Please note that no glass is allowed on the pitches.

• Dogs are not permitted on the football pitches except for guide dogs
• Riding of bicycles and scooters is strictly prohibited on the grass areas / pitches

The Royal Parks will respond to you directly to confirm whether they will allow your event to take place at Hyde Park and will arrange a preliminary meeting with you. A licence fee will be agreed and Park Sports will confirm that the booking has been made in our bookings system.

The Royal Parks will consider each application on a case by case basis. Please provide all relevant documentation with your application to ensure your enquiry is processed in a timely manner; documents such as DBS checks, a copy of your public liability insurance, etc.