Gentlemen, on your marks for the Chap Olympiad

Forget the actual Olympics, this summer the most stylish sporting event in London will be The Chap Olympiad.

Calling all dandies, fops and gentlefolk. This July, The Chap Olympiad gives you the chance to show off not so much your athletic abilities, but more your aesthetic aptitude, in a two day celebration of all things gentlemanly. A joint venture of The Chap magazine and cocktail connoisseurs Bourne and Hollingsworth (you really should check out their excellent eponymous underground drinking establishment off Tottenham Court Road), the Olympiad is back for the fourth time and this year, due to popular yet polite demand, they’ve doubled it to a two day event. (The Chaps have actually been asked to stage an event in the real Olympic Park later in July, too.)

What can one expect at the Olympiad? Well spectators can lounge around the delightful surrounds of Bedford Square Gardens (just round the corner from the Bourne & Hollingsworth), admiring each others formal finery, sipping gin and tonics and enjoying live music and dancing in between the official Olympiad sporting events. And for those chaps and chapettes who wish to compete for a coveted bronze, silver or gold cravat, this year the line up features:

Umbrella Jousting. No horses and jousting poles here – bicycle bound contestants attempt to knock each other off using an umbrella and a reinforced copy of the Daily Telegraph.
Raconteur’s Relay. Contestants take turns to continue an anecdote in as witty a manner as possible. Straying off the subject scores extra points.
Butler Baiting. Who says we live in a classless society? Here, points are awarded to chaps who can get their butler to carry out unreasonable jobs like mixing a dry martini with vodka (the horror!) or fastening the lower button of their waistcoats (dear God!).
Ironing Board Surfing. Every chap needs an ironing board to get those perfectly creased trousers (or at least his butler does) but in this event, said chap must mount his board, surfer style, to be carried across the finishing line by his butler and housekeeper.
Swooning. Facing a row of lovely chapettes, a line of chaps must induce the ladies to swoon, via any means necessary.

Think you’ve got the wit and panache to become an Olympiad champion? Or just want to watch the dapper chaps and chapettes in compettion? Tickets are £20 per day or £30 for the weekend. Buy them here. Be warned, though, you’ll have to adhere to the dress code – elegant formal finery or military wear is preferred, the only sportswear permitted is cricket whites, and don’t even think about wearing denim.