Wembley windfall: Major events ‘worth £600m’ to London every year
While footie fans will only be worried about the result when England storm into the Euros semi-final tomorrow night, for London the historic showdown also means a major economic boost.
As Wembley prepares to welcome 60,000 fans at both the semi-final and final, a major new report has revealed that major sporting and cultural events could contribute £600m to the capital’s economy every year.
Research by London & Partners estimated that the total contribution of all major events between 2017 and 2020 was £2.51bn.
This includes £2.27bn generated by visitor spend on accommodation and non-accommodation expenses such as food and drink, as well as an estimated £238m spent by event organisers.
With London preparing to host the final two games of the eagerly-awaited Euro 2020 tournament, as well as the Wimbledon tennis championships taking place this week, officials in the capital are hoping for a major economic boost.
Mayor Sadiq Khan said large events could play a major role in spearheading London’s recovery from the pandemic.
“Major sporting events such as the Euros and Wimbledon are worth hundreds of millions of pounds to our economy every year and the return of these events will provide a much-needed boost to London’s economy following the pandemic, generating jobs and spend in our city as well as acting as a great source of pride,” he said.
Over the past four years London has gained a £1bn boost from sports events alone, playing host to the Cricket World Cup, the World Athletic Championships and the ATP Tennis finals at the O2 Arena.
If the final easing of lockdown measures goes ahead as planned on 19 July, London will also benefit from the return of concerts and cultural events such as Wireless Festival, All Points East and the BBC Proms.
Events such as these injected a total of £1.48bn in visitor and event organiser expenditure between 2017 and 2020.
The report estimated that every visit to a concert and cultural event generated on average £23 to the London economy, while each visit to a sporting event injected on average £42.
“London audiences are passionate event goers and we’ve missed the buzz and excitement of major events in our city,” said Georgina Warren, director of major events and city experience at London & Partners.
“As restrictions continue to lift, we are seeing lots of interest for sporting, cultural and music events to be hosted in London and it’s fantastic to see a great line-up of events already set to take place over the coming months.
“Whether you are a spectator or an event organiser, there is no better destination for a major event and London is very much open and looking forward to welcoming you back.”