Off their boat races! Revellers at Henley Regatta look a little worse for wear after hours of drinking and hot weather

Daily Mail​

06-07-2025

Henley Regatta revellers yesterday looked worse for wear as they swigged wine and beers while partying on boats on the Thames.
Empty bottles of £40 rose sparkling wine, and £28 M&S St Gall champagne stood upright on the grass.
People dressed in glamorous outfits who were keen to keep the party going sat on the banks of the Thames and stood on boats swigging from bottles of alcohol and pint glasses.
One group of young rowing fans wearing boating jackets sat cross-legged on the grass as they poured vodka into a hip flask.
Meanwhile, one young gentleman, wearing a cream blazer with a black trim, clasped an orange Sainsbury's bag as he sat on a brick wall beside a young woman, a four-pint bottle of milk, and two one litre bottles of diet coke.
Another suited male was seen slumped to his knees on the grass, while elsewhere some pals sat on the floor sipping beer.
Empty pint glasses, cans of cider and lager, and a half-drunk bottle of La Mortuacienne Mandarin lemonade sat abandoned on a pub picnic bench.
The rowing event, which was established in 1839, takes place every year and sees teams compete in more than 300 races along the river in Oxfordshire.
People keen for the frivolities to continue as the fifth day of the regatta came to a close were later spotted enjoying after-parties as they stood and danced on boats.
The six-day event comes to its culmination today with a series of finals races.
The popular sporting event, which was established in 1839, comes hand-in-hand with a day of picnics and drinking.
Teams compete in over 300 races of an international standard on the Thames, which can include Olympic rowers as well as crews new to the event.
It was first staged in 1839 and has been held annually every year since, except during the two World Wars and 2020 due to Covid-19.
In 2021 it was announced that women would be allowed to wear trousers to the Henley Royal Regatta for the first time since it was established in 1839.
The long-standing sartorial rules - which asked for over-the-knee skirts and no trousers, and a blazer or smart jacket - crumbled under pressure from campaigners who branded the former dress code 'symbolic of an era when women couldn't compete and were just there to look pretty'.
Olympian Sir Steve Redgrave was chairman of the boating event until 2024 when he stood down after ten years in the role.
He was succeeded by Richard Phelps who previously competed at the Barcelona Olympics in 1992 as well as rowing for Cambridge in the Boat Races.
Mr Phelps told the Henley Herald in May one of the main focuses of the committee for this year event was 'achieving gender parity'.
He also told how 'good relations with the town and the goodwill of the residents are important'.
'We'll make sure that whatever we do is to enhance both,' he said.