Exclusive: Wembley Licence Documents Show Rare Overnight Route As Fury-Joshua Talks Target Late Start

Scanned Brent Council licensing documents acquired by Box.Live show Wembley Stadium’s original premises licence included provision for a limited number of overnight events in the stadium bowl, adding a new layer to the debate over whether Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua could be staged in the early hours of the morning.

The proposed all-British heavyweight fight is being targeted for later this year, but the location and start time have become central issues after Turki Alalshikh said he wants the bout in England only if it can be staged at a time that works for a global television audience.

BBC Sport reported this week that Fury vs Joshua could be held at Wembley Stadium in the early hours, with the main event potentially starting as late as 04:00 GMT if the event is timed around prime-time viewers in the United States. Wembley usually works to an 11pm curfew for major evening events, but sources close to London mayor Sir Sadiq Khan told the BBC that such a proposal is “doable”, while Brent Council said any change “would have to be assessed by the stadium’s safety advisory group of which Brent Council is a partner.”

The scanned documents seen by Box.Live are attached to Wembley National Stadium’s premises licence number 220180. They state that events held within the stadium bowl between 23:00 and 09:00 were restricted to a maximum of three per year, and an overall maximum of 10 across a six-year period. For those “night events”, entertainment noise was not supposed to be audible inside existing noise-sensitive premises with windows open in a typical ventilation position.

That provision does not mean Fury vs Joshua can simply be moved to 4am by Alalshikh, Wembley, broadcasters or politicians. It does, however, show that Wembley’s original licensing framework was more nuanced than the idea of an absolute 11pm ban. The route existed on paper, but it treated overnight events as rare, tightly limited and subject to stricter noise controls.

The current public licence picture is also more complicated than a simple curfew. Brent Council’s live register shows licence 220180 remains granted to Wembley National Stadium Ltd, with a 2018 issue date and permissions covering boxing or wrestling entertainment, live music, recorded music, late-night refreshment, alcohol and opening hours. The permitted-times summary lists many of those activities from 00:00 to 00:00, which in licensing terms indicates broad 24-hour permission rather than a standard 11pm closing time.

The practical restrictions sit in the conditions, risk assessments and event-management process. The scanned licence documents state that regulated entertainment and alcohol sales must take place in line with the operating schedule and licence conditions, and that event risk assessments must deal with the nature, location and timings of regulated entertainment. Those details matter more for Fury vs Joshua than the basic headline hours on the licence register.

Wembley’s current planning context still points to 11pm as the normal cut-off for major late-afternoon and evening events. Brent Council planning papers from 2024 referred to the normal finishing time of events being no later than 11pm, and later described large-scale events at the stadium as having “a strict curfew at 11pm”. The same report said the noise monitoring and management required by the premises licence remained in place.

That leaves the proposed Fury-Joshua timing in a narrow but potentially important space. An overnight fight would not just require permission for the main event to start late. It would require Brent Council, Wembley Stadium, the stadium Safety Advisory Group, transport authorities, the Mayor’s office and organisers to agree a plan for crowd safety, noise, stewarding, public order, alcohol trading, local residents and the dispersal of more than 80,000 spectators in the early hours.

Alalshikh has made clear why he wants that discussion. Speaking at an event in London, he said: “I tell you from the beginning, it depends if England give us all that we need, we want the fight here in England. But we want the time zone of all the world, especially in America. If they allowed us to have Wembley late in the night, we want to do it in England. It is about the time and viewership. We will talk with the mayors and Prince Abdullah.”

Khan’s office did not publicly commit to a later start time, but backed the wider ambition to bring the fight to London. A spokesperson for the Mayor of London told Sky Sports: “London is the sporting capital of the world, and the Mayor is working to bring more of the world’s biggest events to the city. London has staged some of the biggest boxing events in recent history at Wembley Stadium, with record crowds of over 90,000 attending heavyweight contests including Anthony Joshua vs Daniel Dubois and Tyson Fury vs Dillian Whyte.

“Sadiq has made clear that London would be the perfect place to stage the long-awaited bout between Anthony Joshua vs Tyson Fury and the Mayor stands ready to support ambitions to bring the event to our capital as we build a better London for everyone.”

Alalshikh later responded on social media by writing: “Hopefully a positive statement from the Mayor of London’s office about a later start time if Fury v Joshua is in London, as so far we have been told it is not possible.”

The timing issue has kept alternative venues in play. Eddie Hearn, who promotes Joshua, has said the current agreement states the fight will take place in the United Kingdom, but has also acknowledged that a move elsewhere would require a renegotiation if Alalshikh pushed for it and Joshua’s side were offered improved terms. Hearn has said the final decision on any change of location would rest with Joshua.

Frank Warren declined to say whether Fury’s contract also stipulates a UK fight, citing a confidentiality clause, but said the bout would proceed and that the location would be mutually agreed by the parties. The Athletic has reported that Las Vegas is a leading candidate if the fight moves to the United States, with other American cities also under consideration. SoFi Stadium near Los Angeles has also been rumoured as a possible option.

A UK overnight fight would not be without precedent in British combat sports. Ricky Hatton’s win over Kostya Tszyu in Manchester in 2005 began around 2am to suit the American television market, and Joe Calzaghe’s fight with Jeff Lacy followed a similar model in 2006. UFC 304 in Manchester last year also ran deep into the night, with the main card starting at 1am BST.

Wembley is a different proposition. It is an open stadium in a heavily populated part of Brent, with far larger dispersal issues than an indoor arena. On a Saturday night, Wembley Park can use the Jubilee line Night Tube as a late transport route, but Wembley Stadium station and Wembley Central are much more limited after midnight. For Joshua vs Dubois in September 2024, Wembley’s own event guidance warned there would be no services from Wembley Central or Wembley Stadium station after 00:00 and directed late travellers to Wembley Park, Night Tube services and buses.

Fury and Joshua are both scheduled to fight later this month before the proposed meeting can move forward. Fury faces Mariusz Wach in Thailand on 24 July, while Joshua is due to face Kristian Prenga in Saudi Arabia the following day. A defeat, injury or contractual shift could still affect the plan, but the bigger question for Wembley is now clear.

The scanned licence documents suggest Wembley’s original framework included a limited overnight route. Whether Fury vs Joshua can use anything like it will depend on the formal request, Brent’s safety process and whether the authorities decide one of British boxing’s biggest fights justifies an exceptional early-morning event at the national stadium.