Big money in major sporting events
London has a rich history of hosting major sporting events, including regular Premier League football matches, the final of the UEFA European Women's Championship in 2022, rugby, tennis and cricket. More recently, Major League Baseball (MLB) and National Football League (NFL) games have also become regular fixtures in the capital’s sporting calendar.
Analysis from 2021 by London & Partners found that the total economic value generated by the 305 major sporting events held in London between 2017 and 2020 was £1.03 billion.1
This breaks down into £858 million spent by visitors and £169 million spent by organisers,2 with the data suggesting that 45 per cent of event organiser spending (including both cultural and sports events) was spent on suppliers based in London.3
Tomorrow, the London Assembly Economy, Culture and Skills Committee will meet to discuss the economic impact of major sporting events in London, looking at the role of the Mayor in bringing more sporting events to the city.
The guests are:
Panel 1: 2:00pm-3:30pm:
- Nick Bitel, Chief Executive, London Marathon Group
- Mark Camley, Executive Director of Park and Venues, London Legacy Development Corporation
- Esther Britten MBE, Head of Events and External Affairs, UK Sport
- Cllr Muhammed Butt, Leader, London Borough of Brent
Panel 2: 3:35pm-5:00pm:
- Howard Dawber, Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth
- Katie Morrison, Interim Assistant Director, External Relations, Greater London Authority (GLA)
- James Fitzgerald, Host City Programmes Director, GLA
- Rose Wangen-Jones, Managing Director, Marketing, Destination & Commercial, London & Partners
The meeting will take place on Monday 10 February 2025 from 2pm in the Chamber at City Hall, Kamal Chunchie Way, E16 1ZE.
Media and members of the public are invited to attend.
The meeting can also be viewed LIVE or later via webcast or YouTube.
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Notes to editors
- London & Partners, The impact of major events on London's economy, July 2021 (pp.7,19)
- London & Partners, The impact of major events on London's economy, July 2021 (p.11)
- London & Partners, The impact of major events on London's economy, July 2021 (p.15)
- For the purpose of this meeting, the Committee is adopting the definition set out by London & Partners in 2021, which defined “major events” as those events which attract more than 10,000 visitors and/or have “significant visitor appeal”.[4]
- Full agenda papers.
- Marina Ahmad AM, Chair of the Economy, Culture and Skills Committee, is available for interview.
- Find out more about the work of the Economy, Culture and Skills Committee.
- As well as investigating issues that matter to Londoners, the London Assembly acts as a check and a balance on the Mayor.
For more information, please contact Tony Smyth in the Assembly Media Office on 07763 251727 or [email protected]. For out of hours media enquiries please call 020 7983 4000 and ask for the Assembly duty press officer.