International polo players ride to Horse Guards Parade

IT held jousting tournaments for Henry VIII, doubled as a car park for senior civil servants and hosted the Great British beach volleyball team.

Now Horse Guards Parade is to hold London's first international polo championship.

Teams of three players from England, South Africa, Dubai and the Commonwealth will battle it out in a series of matches to be held on 17 and 18 June.

Organisers believe the event will attract polo stars including the model Jodie Kidd and her sister Jemma.

Their brother Jack Kidd, a professional player, is in the running to be picked for the England team. Other names mooted include England's best arena polo player Tim Brown and music promoter Bryan Morrison's son Jamie.

Jane Blore from organisers Sandpolo, said she expected hundreds to flock to the temporary arena to watch the games.

"It will be a gladiatorial spectacle," she said. "The parade was originally King Henry VIII's tournament ground so it is an ideal setting for this event."

Arena polo is faster and more aggressive than grass polo because the horses are enclosed in a smaller space.

Miss Blore said the parade would be covered with a temporary surface of fibres, sand and wax to form a track five inches thick. A barrier will then be built separating spectators from the action.

The event, which has the backing of the Royal Parks and the Hurlingham Polo Association which is picking the teams, will be followed by a party at the venue. Tickets will cost between £50 and £250, with proceeds going to charity. Horse Guards Parade was built as a tournament ground but became the venue for the birthday celebrations of Elizabeth I in the 16th century.

Throughout the 17th century it was used for reviews, parades and other ceremonies. For much of the late 20th century it was put to a rather less dignified purpose - as a car park for senior civil servants.

Then in 1991 the IRA carried out a mortar attack on 10 Downing Street from a vehicle parked nearby in Horse Guards Avenue.

Vehicles were then banned from parking anywhere in the area. Today it is the site of the Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the Queen's official birthday.

In the 2012 London Olympics the ground will host the beach volleyball competition.

Temporary courts and seating will be installed with capacities of 12,000 and 5,000 spectators but test games have already been played.

Miss Blore said: "Jodie and Jemma Kidd are invited and I expect they will attend as they love polo, especially arena polo. A lot of other celebrities are on the invitation list but at this stage I can't name names.

"As part of the event there is also the celebrity charity race, where a well-known celebrity will be racing against a polo professional."