UK Sport can reveal exciting progress in developing two innovative events that deliver on our plans to widen the provision of live sport in the UK.
This comes a year after the launch of Making Live Sport Matter, a new major event strategic framework for the UK, that aims to stage global sporting events that reach, inspire and unite the nation.
Progress against targets was outlined to 180 delegates at UK Sport’s Event Partners Day – hosted at Anfield Stadium - an annual event that brings together sport and host city partners to provide updates and networking opportunities.
The event saw the publication of UK Sport's updated major event hosting target list, that can be viewed here.
Paralympic multi-sport event: fusing sport and culture
In addition to Mega and Major Event Programmes, The National Lottery-funded Innovation Events Programme promises to excite core fans and attract new audiences. Firstly, we have made good strides in developing our Paralympic Multi-Sport event concept.
The current concept centres on a week-long festival in 2027 showcasing the pinnacle of Paralympic sport, working with ParalympicsGB, and will also feature exceptional art and culture led by deaf, disabled and neurodivergent artists.
This event concept also has significant potential performance benefits for the UK’s world-leading para athletes, offering them extra competition and qualification opportunities, while recreating a Games time environment on home soil in the lead-up to the 2028 Paralympics.
Eleven sports have been shortlisted for inclusion in the event and multiple cities have expressed an interest in hosting, with a full feasibility process to follow.
Urban Sports festival: pioneering partnership
Meanwhile, we are working with Manchester City Council to develop our Urban Sports festival concept.
Our research strongly indicated that the event needs to be built and established in one location, with the intention to take the event to other UK cities in the future. Manchester is an early adopter city in urban sport and have ringfenced investment for the project, making them the ideal partner.
Live sport remains part of UK’s way of life
The UK’s love of live sport continues to be unsurpassed, with the Two Circles 2024 attendance report revealing that 77.7 million tickets were sold for sporting events in the UK last year.
UK Sport’s updated event hosting target list contains 57 events that have the potential to reach 16 million live spectators in the coming years.
In 2027, we will host the Grand Depart of the Tour de France and the Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift, set to be the biggest free spectator events ever to be staged in the UK.
Since the launch of the target list in March 2024, the World Boxing Championships, EuroHockey, Commonwealth Games and the Invictus Games have all been secured for the UK, with an intention to bid for the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup demonstrating the scale of our long-term ambition.
Reaching as many fans as possible
Central to our new strategic framework is staging events that have reach and relevance in every corner of the country.
In our drive to create a more diverse and inclusive sporting landscape, we have developed EDI targets using UK population data to measure the impact of our programmes on an annual basis. We believe we can reach more diverse audiences by supporting a range of events watched and played by different communities.
Collectively across the Paris cycle, the UK hosted 41 events, in 43 towns and cities and supported 34 sports to achieve their event hosting ambitions.
As we march on to Milan Cortina, LA and beyond, the UK sporting community continues to act on our ambitions to host the very best major sporting events in the world.