- Women’s football sees a 38% surge in UK attendance
- UK sports attendance grows by 27% over the past decade
- Total attendance for UK sports events set to hit 77.7 million in 2024, despite the cost of living crisis
Two Circles, the sports and entertainment marketing business, has today revealed new data that showcases UK sports’ resilience to broader economic pressures, with cumulative sports attendances set to hit 77.7 million for 2024.
The 2024 Sports Attendance Review, which examines trends across all professional, ticketed sports events held in the UK throughout 2024, reveals a 27% increase in sports attendances over the past decade.
This contrasts with other leisure industries, where 67% of consumers reported spending less on dining out in 2024, while box office revenues have dropped by 20% compared to pre-pandemic levels in 2019. Sport, however, has bucked the trend with fans in the UK spending more of their disposable income driving the experiential economy.
Women’s football has been a standout success story in 2024, with Two Circles data revealing that a total of 2.12 million fans are set to pack into stands for women’s football matches in 2024, up 38% on last year. Women’s football would be the fifth highest attended sport in the UK in its own right, if crowds were split from the men’s game, placing it behind only men’s football, rugby union, cricket and horse racing in total attendance figures this year.
The UK’s insatiable demand for football continues to dominate, with total attendances across professional leagues set to hit 55 million in 2024. Premier League stadiums boast a 97% occupancy rate throughout the season, while growing demand for tickets is extending beyond the top-tier, with lower leagues also seeing average match-day attendances increasing.
Gareth Balch, Co-Founder and CEO, Two Circles said: “It’s no surprise to us that sport continues to flourish, despite the economic challenges the UK is facing. We know that there is a huge opportunity for organisations that evolve and grow in line with the ever-increasing demand for live experiences.
“The winners will be those who understand their fans best, and focus on creating better experiences for them, along with the creation of new formats, like The Hundred, which can engage both existing and new audiences.
“Capitalising on major events also plays a big part, as we have seen with the growth of women’s football following the UEFA Women’s Euros in 2022, and we are excited to see the impact hosting a home Women’s Rugby World Cup next summer can have for the UK as well.”
-ENDS-
About Two Circles
Two Circles grows audiences and revenues for the world’s leading sports and entertainment organizations by knowing fans best. From twelve international offices (London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles, Bern, Cologne, Kansas City, Melbourne, Miami, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Riga), Two Circles manages billions of fan data interactions on behalf of over 950 clients around the globe, with more insight into fan behaviour and desire than any other organization. The business uses this data to grow the volume and value of fan relationships across all channels, to increase revenue across media rights, sponsorship, retail and licensing and ticketing.
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