London bridge is falling down - so Boat Race relocates

FILE PHOTO: Rowing - BNY Mellon 2015 Oxford v Cambridge University Boat Race - River Thames, London - 11/4/15 Oxford pass under the pass under Hammersmith Bridge as they win the mens race Reuters / Peter Nicholls/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) - Next year's Boat Race between Oxford and Cambridge will take place outside London for the first time since World War Two - because a bridge that passes over the usual course is close to collapsing.

The annual event between rowing crews of England's top two universities usually attracts hundreds of thousands of spectators to the west London stretch of the River Thames, with many standing on Hammersmith Bridge to watch the boats pass underneath.