Zwift, a gamified online fitness and E-Sports platform sponsorship of the 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships , a first of its kind mega-event combining 13 UCI World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland 3-13 August 2023 merged the reality of the world’s biggest cycling event with the creation of a bespoke Scotland themed virtual cycling gamified experience for esports events.
This multi stakeholder-funded event had a vision to inspire everyone to experience the freedom, health and environmental benefits of riding bikes with a mission to deliver an event that showcased Scotland’s landscape and act as a catalyst for positive societal change.
2023 UCI Cycling World Championship’s Local Organising Committee (LOC) tasked with delivering this vision would require an innovative approach to maximise a limited budget for broadening the reach and impact around the world before and long after the event. The solution : E-Sports and Gaming
The sponsorship expanded to also include the rights to stage a world first hybrid Cycling E-Sports World Championships, which had physical event in Glasgow and athletes competing globally online in February 2023. A further 26,000 esports events were promoted by Zwift and its members in the run up to the championship in August. Serving has a key promotional and experiential activity in the build-up.
The sponsorship contributed to the generation of 245m digital impressions with 7.2m engagements. 2.2m rides covering 52m kilometre were completed in the Scotland World. This excitement resulted in a cumulative global TV audience of 537m (93.7m in Europe).
