Bouncing back: the resilience of live sports events

Across Europe and the United States, sports events are selling out. If venues seem packed, it’s because they are: the UK cumulative attendance record was broken last year with 76.2 million people attending sport in 2022. This prompted us to ask two questions. Firstly, has sport bounced back from the difficulties of the pandemic era? And, secondly, what can rights holders and venues do to capitalise on this in the face of a shifting economic landscape? To discuss all this, we welcome to the podcast Ari Daie, CEO and founder of Sports Loft member company FEVO, and Nathan Homer, chief commercial officer of the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park. Nathan and Ari are the perfect guests to discuss these trends, with perspectives that cover making the ticket buying process easier and more social, and ensuring the live event is enticing and exciting as possible. As Nathan explains, demographics are shifting and fans expect more from their ticket than just 90 minutes of sporting action – from selfie spots and shopping, to quality food and halftime shows. This is forcing venues to evolve, shifting to a “ticket plus” model, built on a premium economy experience. In this episode we reference: Sports Pro Media – Study: Women’s sports attendance growth helps set new annual UK crowd record Evening Standard – Is the party over for hospitality? The rise of ‘premium economy’ in the match day box