The 46th edition of the annual London Marathon will bring together more than 59,000 runners, including ordinary people, athletes and even Olympians from around the world, who will compete side by side in this iconic 26.2 mile road race.
Runners will pass some of London’s most iconic landmarks, including Cutty Sark, Surrey Quays, Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf, London Eye and Big Ben, before reaching the finish line at The Mall, right next to Buckingham Palace.
Want to watch all the action? Luckily, we’ve found an easy way to stream the 2026 London Marathon for FREE.
Can I watch the 2026 London Marathon for free?
British viewers are in luck! The 2026 London Marathon will be broadcast live for FREE on BBC One and BBC iPlayer. All you need is a TV license.
The event is also available for free in several other countries, including Italy (on RaiPlay) and Spain (the RTVE reading).
Furthermore, the official Olympic Channel will provide free live coverage of the 2026 London Marathon in selected locations, such as China, Japan, the Middle East, North Africa and New Zealand.
You’ll need a VPN to avoid being geoblocked if you’re currently outside your home country. We’ve tested dozens of VPNs and recommend NordVPN.
How to watch the 2026 London Marathon for free using a VPN
A VPN is a handy piece of software that can make your device appear to be in your home country, so you can unblock your usual service. The best VPN at the moment? We recommend NordVPN – it does it all and is currently offering a generous discount.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple:
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you want to connect to in the VPN app. For example, if you are visiting the United States and want to check your usual UK service, you would select ‘UK’ in the app.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head over to BBC iPlayer (or Olympic Channel, depending on where you’re from) and watch the 2026 London Marathon live for FREE.
Why should I watch the London Marathon on BBC iPlayer?
BBC One and BBC iPlayer provide unrivaled coverage of the London Marathon with Gabby Logan leading coverage from 8:30am BST. Coverage moves to BBC Two at 2pm BST.
Journalists on the course include JJ Chalmers, Blue Peter’s Abby Cook, Tim Warwood and Harry Aikines-Aryeetey.
Truly, we couldn’t ask for better media coverage for one of the world’s biggest marathons.
Can I stream the London Marathon?
Yes. If you’re not there to stream the action, you can listen to it instead.
BBC Radio London has coverage from 8am BST and you can listen to it via BBC Sounds.
We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Access a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protect your online security and strengthen your online privacy abroad. We do not support or condone illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consumption of paid pirated content is not endorsed or endorsed by Future Publishing.
