Run With Mo! as part of BST Hyde Park
BST Hyde Park in London is usually associated with major music days, the main Great Oak Stage, and a series of performers who turn Hyde Park into an open-air concert space during the summer. But the Open House programme shows another side of the festival: the one in which the park opens during the week for sport, film, family activities, workshops, food, drink, and a more relaxed daytime rhythm.
Run With Mo! belongs exactly to that festival space between the big music weekends. Instead of a classic concert, visitors enter an event that combines running, a meeting with Mo Farah, and an evening stay in one of London’s best-known parks. The format is clear: 3 km through Hyde Park, start and finish at the Great Oak Stage, a shared warm-up, and social time with Sir Mo Farah CBE.
For visitors coming to BST Hyde Park for the first time, this is a good example of why the festival differs from a series of summer concerts in parks. The programme is not just a sequence of performances, but a multi-day city event that uses the space of Hyde Park for different audiences: fans of pop, rock, country, K-pop, orchestral programming, families, film audiences and, in this case, recreational runners. Ticket sales for this event are under way.
What is Run With Mo!
Run With Mo! is conceived as an experience for runners of different levels. It is not presented as an elite race with an emphasis on results, but as participation in a 3 km route through Hyde Park with Mo Farah. The event begins in the area in front of the Great Oak Stage, and the same space is also the finishing point of the route. This is important for orientation: visitors are not coming to an unfamiliar athletics zone separated from the festival, but to the centre of BST Hyde Park.
The programme includes a group warm-up led by Mo Farah and Adam Clarke from URUNN. After that, participants join the route through the park. Everyone who finishes the run receives a commemorative medal. After the route, Mo Farah appears on the Great Oak Stage for a conversation hosted by Nihal Arthanayake, focusing on the journey that shaped Farah’s athletics career and public story.
This format has a different energy from the usual festival evening. Instead of waiting for a headliner, the centre of the event is shared movement. The audience can arrive earlier, spend part of the day in the Open House area, view additional content, get food or drink in the festival zone, and then move into the ticketed area intended for the Run With Mo! programme. It is worth securing tickets in time.
Sir Mo Farah and the sporting context of the event
Sir Mo Farah CBE holds the status in athletics of a competitor whose career marked long-distance track events. World Athletics lists him as a four-time Olympic champion and six-time world champion, and he is especially known to the wider public for his gold medals in the 5,000 m and 10,000 m at the Olympic Games in London and Rio. Such a context gives the Run With Mo! programme a weight that goes beyond an ordinary recreational route in a park.
Farah’s presence is also important because the event is not conceived as a brief appearance of a name on a poster. The announced format includes a warm-up with the audience, the run itself, and a conversation after the finish. This creates a clear dramaturgy for the evening: first preparation, then movement, then conversation on stage. A visitor coming because of sport gets the chance to be part of the route, while a visitor coming because of Farah’s story also gets a public Q&A segment.
Open House: a festival day that begins before the evening run
Open House is the part of BST Hyde Park that brings a daytime programme in a more relaxed rhythm in the middle of the week. For the day of the Run With Mo! programme, free entry into the Open House area has been announced from the morning, while the ticketed part for Run With Mo! opens later in the afternoon. This means that arrival does not have to be organised around only one activity. Visitors who have time can get to know the area earlier, check the entrances, eat something, find water points, and only then move towards the Great Oak Stage.
For the same day, the Open House programme lists Wimbledon broadcasts, children’s activities, theatre programming, sports trials, a DJ programme, a HIIT session, an evening cinema programme, and a performance by the London African Gospel Choir with the programme Bob Marley Reimagined.
- Space: BST Hyde Park takes place on the Parade Ground on the eastern side of Hyde Park, with the festival address area W2 2UH.
- Main event point: Run With Mo! starts and finishes at the Great Oak Stage.
- Daily rhythm: the Open House area opens earlier during the day, while Run With Mo! has a separate entry regime.
- Audience: the event is intended for participants aged 7 and over, with adult accompaniment for those under 16 years of age.
Route, waves and pace
It is a 3 km route, which is short enough to be accessible to a large number of recreational runners, but concrete enough for visitors to feel that they are participating in a real sporting event, not just a festival walk. A special feature is the division into waves according to expected finish time. Such an approach helps participants distribute themselves according to their own pace and keeps the route clearer.
The announced waves range from faster groups to those planning to finish the running or walking more slowly. The red wave covers an expected finish of 10 to 20 minutes, blue from 20 to 30 minutes, green from 30 to 40 minutes, yellow from 40 to 50 minutes, orange from 50 to 60 minutes, and purple from 60 to 70 minutes. The purple wave also includes users of manual wheelchairs. The organisers state that electric wheelchairs and vehicles are not permitted on the route itself, while manual wheelchairs are provided for under special safety conditions.
Run With Mo! is therefore not just a spontaneous run behind a famous athlete. Participants choose a pace, accept the conditions of physical activity, and arrive in clothing and footwear suitable for outdoor movement.
Tickets, zones and access to the space
Different ticket categories have been announced for Run With Mo!. General Admission gives access to the basic running experience with Mo Farah and to the area in front of the Great Oak Stage. The Child & Guardian category is intended for a child aged 7 to 15 and one accompanying person aged 18 or over, as a joint package. Viewing Platform is intended for visitors who need a more accessible and less crowded space by the Great Oak Stage, including wheelchair users and personal assistants where applicable.
In practice, the wider Open House area and the Run With Mo! zone should be distinguished. Open House is a daytime festival space with content, bars, food, and accompanying programming. Run With Mo! is a separate experience connected to the route, waves, and Great Oak Stage. This means that arriving earlier can be useful, but it does not replace the entry rules for the part of the event itself for which a ticket is required.
Tickets for this event are in demand. Since it is a one-day festival ticket connected to a specific programme, visitors are wise to check their own category, age rules, and access conditions in advance, especially if they are coming with children, a person who needs accessible entry, or a guide.
Rules to know before arrival
The most important rules for Run With Mo! are quite straightforward. Bags are limited to A4 size, and no bag storage or cloakroom is planned for this event. Picnic blankets are permitted, but assistance dogs are the only animals allowed into the controlled area. Since the event is an outdoor physical activity, clothing for outdoor conditions and footwear suitable for exercise are recommended.
In the general information for events, BST Hyde Park also lists rules useful for the broader festival context: at major ticketed events there is no re-entry after entry, larger bags are not allowed, and food and drink usually cannot be brought into controlled areas except water in an unopened plastic bottle up to 500 ml and children’s food that is not in glass. There are different nuances for Open House, so for Run With Mo! it is best to follow the rules listed specifically for that programme.
Practical preparation can look like this:
- arrive with a small bag and without unnecessary equipment;
- choose a wave according to a realistic pace, not according to the ambition of the moment;
- count on standing, walking, and moving through the festival area;
- bring a bottle that complies with the rules and use the water points in the area;
- check the conditions for children, accompaniment, and accessibility before arrival.
Hyde Park as an open-air stage
Hyde Park is one of the best-known green spaces in London, and for an event like this it is not only a backdrop. Its wide paths, grassy areas, and openness towards the city centre make it a natural place for a combination of sport and festival. A visitor can experience a city park, festival infrastructure, and a sporting programme on the same day without moving into a classic hall or stadium.
BST Hyde Park uses the Parade Ground on the eastern side of the park, where entrances, stages, food and drink zones, information points, toilets, and rest areas are located. For those coming for the first time, the best advice is simple: do not plan to arrive at the last moment. Hyde Park is large, entrances depend on the type of event, and moving through the festival space takes longer than an ordinary walk to an Underground station.
Arrival by public transport and moving around the park
BST Hyde Park recommends arriving by public transport or on foot whenever possible. For the Parade Ground, connections are listed via Bond Street, Green Park, Paddington, and Victoria stations, with a note that step-free access applies to Green Park, Bond Street, Victoria, and Paddington. This is an important detail for visitors with accessibility needs, although Run With Mo!, because of the bag restrictions, is certainly not an event for arriving with a lot of luggage.
Bus connections around Marble Arch, Hyde Park Corner, and Knightsbridge are also numerous, but crowds should be expected in the evening hours. A temporary bike rack is planned at Albert Gate, with the note that bicycles may not be brought into the event space.
Arriving by car is not a recommended option. BST Hyde Park states that visitors should avoid arriving by car where possible, and those who nevertheless come should book parking in advance. Roads around Hyde Park may be closed on event days, and for the festival itself there is no standard drop-off or pick-up point because of congestion. For international visitors, London is connected by Heathrow, Gatwick, and City airports, while trains and the Underground lead towards the city centre.
Why this programme stands out from the festival schedule
BST Hyde Park 2026 builds its programme on the contrast between major headline days and more open midweek content. In that schedule, Run With Mo! has its own identity: it is not an accompanying activity hidden in a corner of the park, but a separate event with a clear name, route, stage, and public figure carrying the programme.
For a visitor choosing only one day, the value lies in the combination. They get time in Hyde Park, entry into the festival atmosphere, a sporting activity that does not require marathon fitness, and an encounter with an athlete whose career is linked to the highest level of Olympic and world sport. For the festival, it is a reminder that a summer outdoor programme does not always have to mean only a concert schedule from support act to headliner.
It is worth securing tickets in time, especially if the plan is to arrive with a child, accessibility needs, or a group that wants the same finish wave. Run With Mo! is an event that will suit visitors most who like simple, concrete formats: you come to the park, warm up, complete the route, receive a medal, and stay to listen to the conversation on stage while Hyde Park moves into its evening rhythm.
Sources:
- BST Hyde Park - data on the identity of the festival, the Open House concept, the 2026 programme, and the Run With Mo! event were used.
- BST Hyde Park Event Info - information on times, entry rules, facilities, bags, water, and festival services was used.
- BST Hyde Park Transport Info - information on the location on the Parade Ground, public transport, bicycles, parking, and arrival by air was used.
- World Athletics - Mo Farah’s sporting profile and data on Olympic and world titles were used.
- The Royal Parks - context on Hyde Park as a London park and visitor space was used.