Sadiq Khan warms up for MLB guest appearance as London Mayor practises in New York’s Central Park
Sadiq Khan has warmed up for his guest appearance throwing the ceremonial first pitch at a Major League Baseball (MLB) game by practising in New York’s Central Park.
The Mayor of London met with Hillary Clinton, the city’s current mayor Eric Adams and its former leader Michael Bloomberg on Monday at the start of his tour to boost London’s tourism and tech industries.
The west coast leg of the trip began with Khan landing in San Francisco at about 10.30pm (6.30am BST) ahead of his appearance throwing the first pitch at the game between the hometown Giants and the Colorado Rockies at Oracle Park on the edge of San Francisco Bay later today.
The American tradition of having a guest-of-honour throw the first pitch dates back to at least 1890 and has commonly included US presidents since William Howard Taft in 1910.
Mr Khan attended the launch of an international tourism campaign – Let’s Do London – on Monday in Times Square and met with MLB commissioner Robert Manfred to announce the British capital would host regular season games for the league in 2023, 2024 and 2026.
Mr Khan will meet with Google and LinkedIn executives in San Francisco, before travelling to Los Angeles to promote London’s film industry.