UK sports attendances 'hit 75 million in 2019'

England played host to the 2019 Cricket World Cup

The total attendance for professional UK sports events will hit 75.1 million in 2019, the highest on record and up on 74.6 million in 2018, a report says.

Sports marketing agency Two Circles also says that in 2019 live sport will contribute £11.8bn to the UK economy.

Major events held in the UK included the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, golf's Solheim Cup, and Netball World Cup.

Football is the main contributor to total attendances, with 50.5m fan visits, some 67% of total live viewers.

The strength of UK sporting attendances have been boosted by other factors. These include:

• A large supply of premium sport within a relatively small geographical footprint

• Citizens in the UK having a higher propensity for live sports experiences than other countries;

• A well-developed infrastructure of venues with a total sports-event capacity of 5.6m

• And the accessibility of the UK as a travel destination from Europe, North America and Asia.

Gareth Balch, Two Circles boss, said: "In addition to the UK's domestic competitions growing their live fan bases, new events such as regular-season NFL and MLB games in London are being added to the calendar.

"The UK has also shown to be a dependable destination for international federations looking to deliver both amazing atmospheres and commercially-successful competitions."

Excluding major one-off events like the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, Netball World Cup and Solheim Cup, the UK sporting attendance in 2019 was 74 million.

Two Circles says this means, excluding major one-off events, UK sports attendances have grown 3.4% year-on-year on average between 2013 and 2019, representing 11 million more attendances in 2019 than in 2013.