More than 1.4 million attended world’s biggest women’s sporting events in London this year

• Over 1.4 million fans have flocked to London this year to see women’s sport in the capital
• The Women’s Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham was the highlight of a packed year, setting a new world record of 81,885 as the most attended women’s rugby union match in history and most-watched women’s rugby union match ever on UK television, with a peak audience of 5.8 million viewers
• Mayor praises London’s role as undisputed global capital for women’s sport as world class women’s rugby, tennis, cricket, football, netball, hockey, basketball and athletics feature on a packed sporting calendar

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has praised London as the undisputed global capital for women’s sport in 2025 as it’s confirmed more than 1.4 million people attended some of the world’s biggest events, including the Women’s Rugby World Cup Final at Twickenham this year.

The Women’s Rugby World Cup Final last month - which saw Red Roses England captain Zoe Aldcroft and player of the match Sadia Kabeya inspire England to a 33-13 victory over Canada - was a sellout of 81,885 spectators, setting a new world record as the most attended women’s rugby match in history. The figure surpasses the 66,000 fans in attendance at the Stade de France for the opening day of the Paris 2024 Olympic women's rugby sevens tournament, and the 58,498 who watched England beat France in the 2023 Six Nations, which was also at Twickenham.

The Final also achieved a record-breaking peak audience on the BBC as 5.8 million viewers tuned in across TV and streaming to watch – making it the most-watched women’s rugby union match ever on UK television and the most-watched rugby match of the year. [1] In total, viewing figures for major women’s sporting events in London this year on free-to-air TV and digital platforms are higher than 20 million.

As part of the Women’s Rugby World Cup, Sadiq has provided funding for the London Fanzone at Battersea Power Station and supported the implementation of the Host City Impact Programme, which will deliver non-contact rugby to over 2,000 women. [2]

Another highlight of London’s sporting calendar was the HSBC Championships in June, which saw women’s tennis return to The Queen’s Club for first time in over 50 years. 62,000 spectators attended The Queen’s Club for the women’s WTA 500 event, with the final three days selling out entirely, giving one of the highest attendances for a standalone Women's Tennis Association (WTA) event anywhere on the Tour globally. There were nearly 1.4m interactions with the HSBC Championships Instagram account during the WTA week – a huge 152 per cent increase on content compared to the Eastbourne WTA 500 in 2024. [3]

During the tournament the Mayor announced a new £500,000 partnership with the Lawn Tennis Association (LTA), Rally Together London, to open up the sport to more people across London. The programme is training 250 people from under-represented backgrounds to join the tennis workforce and facilitate sessions for local communities, with a minimum of 50 per cent female. In total, the partnership will introduce at least 5,500 more young people to the sport. [4]

The HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club were followed by the prestigious 2025 Wimbledon Championships at the All England Lawn Tennis Club, which saw 548,770 guests come through the gates across the fortnight, with daily record attendances on Days 9, 11 and 12. [5] 4.1 million tuned into BBC One to watch Poland’s Iga Swiatek win her first ladies’ singles title at the Championships with a commanding victory over American Amanda Anisimova.

The capital also celebrated England's triumphant Lionesses squad following their Euro 2025 victory over Spain with a spectacular open-top bus parade through central London. 65,000 fans were in attendance as the parade took the back-to-back European champions along The Mall before a ceremony at the Queen Victoria Memorial in front of Buckingham Palace as crowds celebrated alongside the Lionesses’ biggest stars - including Leah Williamson and Chloe Kelly. [6] It came after the 2025 Adobe Women’s FA Cup Final sold out Wembley for the third consecutive year, with 74, 412 fans in attendance.

Elsewhere the London Athletics Meet - the world’s biggest one-day athletics event - welcomed a sell-out to the 60,000 capacity London Stadium in July to watch a world class line-up that included Olympic medallists Dina Asher-Smith and Katarina Johnson-Thompson.

The Netball Super League 2025 Grand Final also took place in July at The O2 Arena, marking the first time in the League’s history that the showcase event was staged at the iconic venue. It saw London Pulse beat Loughborough Lightning 53-45 in a thrilling encounter.

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan said: “At the start of the year, I declared London the undisputed global capital for women’s sport in 2025 and I am proud that our city has so emphatically delivered, with more than a million fans coming here to watch the world’s best athletes.

“Our capital has successfully staged some of the world’s biggest sporting events including the thrilling Women's Rugby World Cup Final, which I was delighted to attend, and the historic return of women’s tennis to the Queen’s Club.

“London has also provided the iconic backdrop for some unforgettable celebrations, including the open-top bus parade through central London for our triumphant Lionesses.

“These events shine a global spotlight on the capital and inspire young Londoners – particularly young girls - to get involved in grassroots sport.

“That is why I am focused on bringing even more major sporting events to our city as we work together to build a better, healthier, more prosperous London for everyone.”

Next year will bring a further packed programme of events, including the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Lord's Cricket Ground will host the final on 5 July, with the two semi-finals held at The Oval. Both venues will also stage high-profile group matches across the tournament.

In addition, London is bidding to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships – after London Stadium hosted the prestigious event in 2017 – and looking to play a major part in the UK’s bid for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035, with the UK having been confirmed as the sole bidder for the tournament.

Sarah Massey, Managing Director of Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, said: “This has been a landmark year for women’s sport and we are immensely proud to have played our part in welcoming over 81,000 fans to a record-breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup Final at Allianz Stadium in London. This has been a tournament that not only showcased world-class rugby but also broke new ground for women’s sport, for fans, and for communities across the host cities.”

Chris Pollard, LTA Managing Director, Commercial and Operations, said: “The HSBC Championships was a huge success this summer, with the return of a women's event to the Queen's Club for the first time in 50 years providing thousands more fans with the opportunity to enjoy world class tennis.

“We're delighted to be working with the Mayor of London to capitalise on this and open up access to the sport through Rally Together London, a programme which is growing the tennis workforce across the city and giving more young people the opportunity to pick up a racket and get active.”

Beth Barrett-Wild, Tournament Director, ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026, said: “2025 has been a landmark year for women’s sport in London, with record-breaking crowds and unforgettable moments.

“As we look ahead to 2026, cricket is proud to take up the baton with the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup, which will put iconic venues like Lord’s and The Oval in the global spotlight and showcase world-class women’s sport to millions of fans around the world. The tournament will propel women’s cricket firmly into the mainstream, inspiring countless women and girls across the capital and the country to fall in love with cricket.”

Sally Bolton OBE, Chief Executive of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, said: “It was a record year at The Championships 2025, with more than half a million people attending Wimbledon across the Fortnight. Wimbledon is the UK’s most valuable annual sporting event in economic terms and it is truly an event for everyone. More than half of all guests at this year’s Championships were women, and 46% of women surveyed said they felt inspired to play more tennis after attending the event.”

Cherry Alexander OBE, Major Events Director at British Athletics, said: “This year’s Novuna London Athletics Meet provided one of the most electric atmospheres in global sport this summer and officially sold out the iconic London Stadium in record time. We are proud to stage the biggest one-day athletics event in the world, which helps to reinforce London’s reputation as a powerhouse for world-class sport and the true global capital for women’s sport.”

Claire Nelson, Managing Director of the Netball Super League, said: “Hosting the 2025 Netball Super League Grand Final in London was a milestone moment for our sport as we welcomed a record-breaking crowd to The O2, testament to the continued growing appetite among London’s sports fans for the exceptional sport-tainment experience that our live events offer. I am so proud that we were able to provide our formidable female athletes with the platform that they deserve and look forward to bringing more incredible international and domestic netball events to the capital over the next year and beyond.”

Sally Munday, CEO of UK Sport, said: “This summer has shown the UK is leading the way as a global home of women’s sport and London is key to its unstoppable rise. At UK Sport, we are proud to support trailblazing female Olympic and Paralympic athletes and are committed to continuing to bring some of the biggest and best international events in women’s sport to the UK. 

“We are all invested in the continuing rise of women’s sport and we look forward to working with the Mayor of London and partners in the capital to make our ambitions a reality.”