Update Sunday: This morning police said that they expected the race to go ahead. However it is too early to say for definite whether the 163rd Boat Race will be cancelled as the assessment of the situation is still ongoing. Organisers are due to meet with police later today to decide whether the race will go ahead. 

According to the BBC, some viewing areas may have to be suspended if they pose a sufficient threat to the spectators' safety.

A suspected unexploded World War Two bomb discovered in the Thames could lead to the cancellation of today’s Oxford-Cambridge Boat Race.

The bomb, discovered at 13:50 on Saturday, is submerged just behind the start line, on the other side of Putney Bridge.

At the time, police said that they would have to wait until the tide goes out at approximately 1am before they could assess the situation and potentially remove the bomb.

It is too early to say whether the 163rd Boat Race will be cancelled. Speaking to Varsity, Michelle Dite, the Race Director said: “At this stage the Races will go ahead as planned. Any decisions regarding changes to the event will be made in conjunction with the police. No decision will be made today [Saturday].”

A spokesman for the Metropolitan Police told The Evening Standard that the race organisers had been informed.

A Scotland Yard spokesman said: “Police were called by a member of the public at approximately 1.50pm on Saturday reporting what they thought to be World War Two ordnance on the Chelsea shoreline by Putney Bridge.

“Officers including the Marine Policing Unit attended. The item is currently submerged.”

Large crowds of people are set to gather around the area in order to watch the race, with over 250,000 people expected to attend.

The men’s boat race is due to start at 5:35pm and the women’s race, held on the Tideway for the third time in history, will take place at 4:35pm.

This is a breaking story and will be updated as more information emerges