MD2487 2023 UEFA Champions League Final (Bid)

Background

1. UEFA has opened a competitive process for prospective host cities and national football associations to bid to host the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final.

1. The English Football Association (The FA) has approached the GLA in request of support for its proposed bid to host the event which will mark 100 years since the opening of Wembley Stadium.

1. The format of UEFA’s bidding process places requirements on host football associations to put forward and manage all stadium operations, whilst host cities are required to commit to provide a package of support ranging from transport operations to fan festivals.

1. All bids to UEFA to host the 2023 Final are due by 1 July 2019. The UEFA Executive Committee will decide the host at its meeting in September 2019 and a public announcement will be made immediately.

The Event

1. The UEFA Champions League is an annual club football competition organised by UEFA and contested by top-division European clubs. The event is considered the most prestigious club football competition in the world and one of the world’s greatest sport events. It has established itself over the years as the benchmark for global sports competitions. The UEFA Champions League Final is one of the most significant and widely-followed annual sports events in the world.

1. Champions League fixtures are played at the home stadia of the competing teams, except for the Final which, each year, is played at a neutral ground that is chosen by UEFA several years in advance through a competitive bidding process. Operational delivery of the Final, along with supporting events and activities, go far beyond a standard football game, and the Champions League Final is a mega-event in its own right.

1. London has hosted the Final on seven previous occasions, all at Wembley Stadium, with the most recent taking place in 2013. The GLA was involved in supporting the event in 2013, primarily through the coordination of support from city agencies to deliver the event operationally in the city. UEFA’s process for appointing hosts has changed significantly since 2013 and now mirrors the approach taken for the UEFA European Championships, where host cities are required to coordinate and contribute towards a much broader scope of work (see Host City Requirements & Budget section).

Host City Requirements & Budget

1. The FA has approached the GLA in request of support for the bid, without which a bid would not be feasible as UEFA requires host city backing and support in a variety of areas.

1. GLA officers have been working with The FA and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to scope the feasibility of a bid and to establish how the respective parties can collectively meet the bidding requirements.

• In keeping with UEFA’s bidding requirements, each host city is required to commit, through legal guarantees, to:
• Develop a security concept and meet the costs associated with delivering a safe and secure host city for teams, officials, media and fans;
• Develop a host city transport plan and meet the costs associated with any uplift in services that may be required to accommodate hosting the Final;
• Provide free public transport in London to all match ticket holders on the day of the game;
• Provide free public transport to event accredited personnel and volunteers for one week;
• Secure reservations for hotel accommodation for teams and UEFA event personnel;
• Arrange two fan meeting points in the city to allow fans of the competing teams to congregate and travel in a coordinated way to the stadium;
• Deliver a host city dressing programme for two weeks prior to the tournament and for its duration. To offer the space free of charge and the host city must pay for the installation/maintenance and dismantling costs;
• Provide venues and infrastructure for a number of city activations, including a site to host a giant inflatable Champions League Trophy, and a trophy tour experience for fans and local residents;
• Provide a venue and perimeter fencing for the UEFA Champions League Festival, a four-day long fan zone site that will include football activations, sponsor activations, merchandise and food/beverage outlets;
• Deliver a Champions League Celebration Party on the eve of the Final at a venue for circa 600 guests, including the competing teams, national football associations and UEFA personnel;
• Protect UEFA against ambush marketing and counterfeit activities during the tournament in ‘clean zones’, including the immediate stadium perimeter and official city-centre activation sites; and
• Support the overall promotion efforts of the tournament, including providing advertising space and other branding inventory in the Host City for free.

1. Based on our experience of UEFA EURO 2020, we have developed the following indicative budget that will be required to deliver the Host City Requirements in London.

* At bid stage the GLA will not commit to deliver Free Public Transport in line with UEFA’s requirements due to the significant anticipated costs of delivery. Instead, the GLA will commit to deliver Free Public Transport to event volunteers and accredited personnel only. However, if by 2023 TfL has developed a digital travel ticketing solution compatible with UEFA’s requirements, which limits the costs of delivering this obligation, the GLA may wish to provide Free Public Transport to match ticket holders. A budget line has therefore been identified within this decision as a contingency, should the circumstances arise that the GLA chooses to deliver this requirement.

​​​​​​​In addition to the above budget, there are several host city requirements that we propose meeting through other means such as in-kind support, rather than the GLA incurring direct costs, as follows:

• Security costs – GLA officers have secured agreement from the Home Office (confirmation received from officials) to cover additional costs of policing the event above business as usual operations (in line with Special Grants Rules).
• Champions League Celebration Party – GLA officers have secured agreement from the City of London Corporation that it will deliver this commitment at no cost to the GLA or UEFA.
• Promotional support and provision of advertising inventory – the GLA is required to put forward promotional assets to raise the profile of the tournament in the immediate build up to and during the event. The GLA will look to use owned assets to fulfil this obligation and offer promotional support as a value in kind contribution to The FA/UEFA, rather than paying for third party owned spaces. In order to increase the inventory available, the GLA will go through the process used for EURO 2020 by contacting media owners and liaising with them to informally reserve space.

​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Indicative GLA budget profile forecast:

1. The GLA’s costs are linked directly to delivery of the Host City Requirements, as identified in section 1.10 and there is no requirement for an underwrite to be provided for wider event activities. The above budget and profile are a best attempt at this stage to forecast expenditure and timelines. Should The FA’s bid be successful, we will revisit the budget and profile in further detail prior to mobilising the project and any relevant further approvals will be sought at that stage.

1. Event governance arrangements are yet to be confirmed. Should the bid be successful, we will work with The FA and government to ensure robust and transparent governance of the event.

1. Expenditure on the event, and the governance arrangements for it, will be subject to a further MD if the bid is successful and such spend and arrangements will be clearly defined.

Legal Requirements (Host City Undertaking and supporting Guarantees)

1. In order for the bid to go forward, the GLA is required to sign the Host City Undertaking, committing the GLA to deliver the tournament in accordance with UEFA’s requirements. The Mayor is also required to sign a series of supporting Guarantees relating to the specific requirements as set out in paragraph 1.10.

1. Several of the obligations detailed in the Host City Undertaking need to be delivered in partnership with city agencies and local authorities. As with the arrangements for EURO 2020 and UEFA Women’s EURO 2021, the GLA will make the commitment to deliver these obligations and work with local partners to fulfil them.

1. The budget identified within this decision has been developed by GLA officers as a best attempt to forecast the financial requirements of delivering the host city requirements as set out in paragraph 1.10. In consultation with TfL Legal, the GLA will issue a side letter to the FA to limit the GLA’s financial commitment to deliver the host city requirements in line with the identified budget.

1. ​​​​​​​All legal documentation will be reviewed by TfL Legal and advice given prior to their signing by the Mayor.

The objectives of the proposed expenditure are to:

• Support delivery of the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final; and
• Support delivery of the Mayor’s sports strategy and the GLA’s major sports events strategy, ‘London: Home of World Class Sport’ (as set out in paragraph 1.22); which is to:

- Increase economic investment into London;
- Increase international exposure of London; and
- Increase opportunities for Londoners to engage with major sports events through opportunities to attend, volunteer at, gain qualifications from, and participate in community sport activity that is linked to, the event.

Hosting the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final presents a significant opportunity to maintain and build on London’s reputation as a leading global city and a destination for hosting the world’s biggest sporting events.

Scored against the criteria contained within the GLA’s Major Sports Events Framework, the event performs extremely well.

• Direct Economic Benefit – Hosting the Final in London will bring increased visitor numbers and economic benefit to London. The best comparison for which data is available is the 2011 Champions League Final which was estimated to have had a direct economic benefit of £43m to the London economy based on research carried out by Mastercard (the event was also hosted at Wembley in 2013, though no economic impact assessment was undertaken). Factoring in cumulative inflation since 2011 (currently c19%) and the ever-increasing profile of the Champions League, we anticipate that direct economic benefit resulting from the 2023 Final to be in excess of £60m.

• Exposure/Reach – The Champions League Final creates, on average, a live match audience in excess of 160 million viewers and is one of the biggest one-day events in the global sporting calendar. The Final is usually aired in more than 200 countries and reaches more than 350 million viewers worldwide.

• Community Engagement – The event also presents a significant opportunity to deliver wider social benefits by engaging a range of stakeholders in the development and delivery of an integrated football and social legacy programme that focuses on improving accessibility to sport and increasing participation levels. The event has a huge profile domestically and presents a significant hook to drive forward a number of community initiatives.

Hosting the event gives The FA and London an excellent opportunity, following EURO 2020 and Women’s EURO 2021, to continue strengthening relationships with a range of countries and the football family across Europe, and to reinforce London’s position as a UEFA preferred delivery partner for the biggest games in European and world football. It will put Wembley and London in the global footballing picture at a time when it is possible that a home-nations bid to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup will be at a critical stage of development.

Under Section 149 of the Equality Act 2010, as a public authority, the Mayor of London must have ‘due regard’ of the need to eliminate unlawful discrimination, harassment and victimisation as well as to advance equality of opportunity and foster good relations between people who have a protected characteristic and those who do not.

The Major Sports Events Team will ensure that as many Londoners as possible, including those with protected characteristics (as defined in the Equality Act 2010), are considered in the planning of the event and have the chance to be involved in some way, be that through playing, training, volunteering or supporting teams.

The Major Sports Events Team has consulted with Team London to ensure the City-wide volunteering programme used to assign volunteers to Fan Zones and city-centre locations eliminates discrimination, harassment and victimisation, and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010. Team London volunteer programmes are open to all that apply, regardless of race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment.

Appropriate assistance to all Londoners and visitors will be available at Champions League Fan Zones and City Activations. The Team London volunteer recruitment strategy will encourage volunteers with language skills to join the volunteering programme; ensuring that the sites will be able to offer assistance to both Londoners and visitors with whom we may have previously been unable to communicate, fostering good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it.

Planning is being shaped by ‘A Tourism Vision for London’ to ensure that visitors are provided with information in accessible formats to help them do more and see more in London; information is improved to help them find rewarding experiences. Visitors and Londoners alike are encouraged to explore areas beyond central London and persons who share a relevant protected characteristic are able to participate in public life or in any other activity in which participation by such persons is disproportionately low.

The GLA will continue to work with Wembley Stadium to ensure that it is an accessible venue, with a relevant and effective strategy. Wembley's Access and Inclusion strategy was developed, in consultation with statutory bodies, from the initial principle that the design of the Stadium should be inclusive to all. The strategy will be used throughout the project to mark out the steps needed to be taken to meet the needs of persons who share a relevant protected characteristic that are different from the needs of persons who do not share it.

Approval is being sought for allocation of up to £5.6m, should a bid be successful, for the staging of the 2023 UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium.

The expenditure is profiled as follows; 2022-23 (£2.8m) and 2023-24 (£2.8m).

Should the proposed bid be successful, the expenditure will be funded by the GLA’s Major Events Reserve. This reserve will be replenished during 2020-21 and future budget setting processes to meet the financial obligations arising from this decision.

The foregoing sections of this report indicate that the decisions requested of the Mayor fall within the statutory powers of the Authority to promote and/or to do anything which is facilitative of or conducive or incidental to the promotion of economic development and wealth creation and social development within Greater London and in formulating the proposals in respect of which a decision is sought officers have complied with the Authority’s related statutory duties to:

(a) Pay due regard to the principle that there should be equality of opportunity for all people;
(b) Consider how the proposals will promote the improvement of health of persons, health inequalities between persons and to contribute towards the achievement of sustainable development in the United Kingdom; and
(c) Consult with appropriate bodies.

In taking the decisions requested of him, the mayor must have due regard to the Public Sector Equality Duty; namely the need to eliminate discrimination, harassment, victimisation and any other conduct prohibited by the Equality Act 2010, and to advance equality of opportunity between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic (race, disability, gender, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief, pregnancy and maternity and gender reassignment) and persons who do not share it and foster good relations between persons who share a relevant protected characteristic and persons who do not share it (section 149 of the Equality Act 2010). To this end, the Mayor should have particular regard to section 3 (above) of this report.

Officers must ensure that any external services required for the project be procured in accordance with the Authority’s Contracts and Funding Code (the “Code”) and with the assistance of Transport for London’s procurement team. Furthermore, officers must ensure that appropriate contractual documentation be executed by both the Authority and the relevant contractor prior to the commencement of the required services.

The officers must ensure that the Host City Undertaking, side letter and any other contractual documents are carefully considered and that legal advice be sought, where necessary, before the Authority enters into any binding legal commitments.