Solar eclipse: Floodlights to be turned on during UK sports events including The Hundred and Kempton racing
Floodlights will be turned on for UK sporting events on Wednesday as organisers prepare for a solar eclipse; the four Hundred fixtures taking place are among those that could be impacted; watch every Hundred game live on Sky Sports
Tuesday 11 August 2026 18:41, UK
Floodlights will be turned on throughout games in The Hundred on Wednesday due to the solar eclipse.
Up to 90 per cent of the sun will be obscured by the moon during the eclipse, which will occur between 6.17pm and 8.06pm, peaking shortly after 7pm.
It will be the first partial solar eclipse for 27 years and will be visible across Europe, with some places experiencing a total eclipse, where the sun, moon and earth all line up in space.
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The light will dim, the temperature will drop and the wind may change direction as the sun disappears behind the moon. After a few minutes the sun will reappear and daylight will return.
There are four games in The Hundred taking place on Wednesday, all of them live on Sky Sports.
Welsh Fire women face London Spirit women at 11.30am in Cardiff, followed by the men's game at 3pm. Birmingham Phoenix women host MI London at Edgbaston from 3pm before the men's teams play each other at 6.30pm.
In anticipation for the solar eclipse, organisers will keep floodlights on throughout all four matches and additional messaging will be issued to fans.
Experts have warned that only special solar eclipse glasses that are certified for the safest eye protection should be used to view the eclipse.
Floodlights will be on 'plenty early' at Kempton
Kempton is all set to stage racing on Wednesday during the solar eclipse.
While the twilight meeting at Ffos Las will begin and end earlier than originally scheduled to ensure all six races take place in daylight, there are no such issues at Kempton due to the floodlights that are in place at the Sunbury circuit.
The eclipse is expected to occur between 7.02pm and 7.16pm and Kempton has races scheduled to take place at 7pm and 7.30pm.
Kempton's clerk of the course Barney Clifford said: "The last one was nearly 30 years ago so I wasn't quite at Kempton then. I remember it but there were no floodlights in those days!
"I'm going to put the floodlights on early doors. I know they have predicted a time for it but you don't quite know how much of the sun is going to be covered and for what race so we'll have the lights on plenty early enough."
Watch every match of The Hundred through to the finals on Sunday August 16. Stream contract-free on NOW.
