UK Spectator Sports Market – Trends and Insights
- Demand for spectator sports attendance is significantly under-served, with only 23% of adults attending a live event in the past year, while nearly three times that number express interest in going in the future.
- The market’s key challenge lies in broadening its focus beyond football, which is prioritised by 62% of those interested in live sports, compared to just 26% for tennis, the second most popular choice.
- Attracting female fans presents a major opportunity for growth. Women are more open to attending smaller sports events, particularly those that offer affordable, family-friendly experiences.
- By diversifying offerings and focusing on affordability and family-friendly experiences, the spectator sports market can unlock untapped demand and drive attendance across a broader range of sports.
This Report Looks at the Following Areas:
- Changing patterns of engagement with live sport
- How sports other than football can build new audiences
- Implications of differences in audiences and behaviours around major football and rugby union events
- Opportunities emerging from under-served demand for live event attendance
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Record football attendances and a strong slate of major events are keeping the market in growth – but are also making it harder for other sports to break through.
David Walmsley, Research Analyst
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EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
- Opportunities for spectator sports
- Bring older fans together outside the home
- Make mobile viewing a multi-sport experience
- Use online creators to make more sports accessible and appealing
- Segment experiences for the young and old
- Market dynamics and outlook
- Market size & forecast
- Market predictions
- Showpiece events supplement football’s engine of growth
- Graph 1: forecast of consumer spending on spectator sports attendance, 2019-30
- A record year for attendance in football and rugby league
- Graph 2: leading spectator sport attendances, 2024/25
- What consumers want and why
- Addressable market shrinks without Olympics or international football…
- Graph 3: 2019-25
- …but 2025’s major events still drew crowds
- Graph 4: major sport events watched live, 2025
- Football remains the only game in town
- Graph 5: sports watched live, 2025
- Only one in three fans pass through the turnstiles…
- Graph 6: methods of watching live sport, 2025
- …but two thirds of all adults would like to attend
- Graph 7: future interest in attending live sports events, 2025
- Excitement appeals – but attendance costs are biggest barrier to growth
- Graph 8: perceptions of live sports events, 2025
- Innovation and marketing
- New Fulham facility raises football’s hospitality bar
- Experiential marketing highlights horseracing’s social appeal
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MARKET DYNAMICS
- Market size
- Event spending heads for £2 billion barrier
- Football + major events = sustained value growth
- Market forecast
- Showpiece events supplement football’s engine of growth
- Graph 9: forecast of consumer spending on spectator sports attendance, 2019-30
- Expanding major event calendar keeps fans buying
- Market segmentation
- Football is the national game by far
- Graph 10: leading spectator sport attendances, 2019-25
- Another record year for club football attendances
- Graph 11: English league football attendances, 2019/20-2024/25
- Horseracing bucks trend of shrinking Cheltenham crowds
- Graph 12: horseracing attendances, 2019-25
- Epic Test series drives cricket’s comeback
- Graph 13: English cricket attendances, 2019-25
- Super League breaks attendance record
- Graph 14: Super League attendances, 2019-25
- Rugby union’s rebranded PREM faces opportunities and threats
- Graph 15: Premiership rugby union attendances, 2019/20-2024/25
- Market drivers
- Fans’ loyalty endures in the living-cost crisis
- Graph 16: Recent and planned leisure spending, 2024-25
- Free-to-air TV coverage keeps live sport visible to the masses…
- Graph 17: peak viewing figures for televised sports events, 2025
- …but younger fans are happy to look elsewhere
- Stadium investments improve quality and quantity
- Turning up the tech
- Tech-focused venues enhance spectator experience
- Going grey presents a growth opportunity for heritage brands
- Graph 18: population change projections, by age group, 2025-35
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WHAT CONSUMERS WANT AND WHY
- Sports fans
- Lack of mega events clips interest rates
- Graph 19: 2019-25
- Women and middle-aged most vulnerable to churn
- Graph 20: experience of live sport, by age and gender, 2024-25
- Rise of women’s sport can create a more even gender balance
- Graph 21: experience of live sport, by age and gender, 2025
- Sports watched
- Football tops the table
- The only game in town
- Graph 22: sports watched live, 2025
- Older fans have broader interests
- Graph 23: repertoires of sports watched live, 2025
- Football is still the people’s game
- Graph 24: experience of live football, by demographics, 2025
- Turn to tennis and athletics for more targeted opportunities
- Graph 25: experience of live tennis and athletics, by demographics, 2025
- Methods of watching
- Only one in three fans pass through the turnstiles
- Graph 26: methods of watching live sport, 2025
- More affluent fans most likely to attend
- Graph 27: experience of attending live sports events, 2025
- Out of home viewing not just reserved for major events
- Graph 28: methods of watching live sport, by age and gender, 2025
- Golden Goals
- Get smart with phones to reach Gen Z
- Graph 29: mobile viewing of live sport, by age and gender, 2025
- FanStream Live
- Watching major events
- Major events retain their pull
- Graph 30: major sport events watched live, 2025
- Men’s football provides the year’s biggest occasion
- Graph 31: live viewing of FIFA Club World Cup, by age and gender, 2025
- Women’s Euros show potential of female sport
- Graph 32: live viewing of women’s Euros, by age and gender, 2025
- Lions tour draws an older crowd
- Graph 33: live viewing of British and Irish Lions tour, by age and gender, 2025
- Social appeal is strongest in home
- Graph 34: major event behaviours, 2025
- Rugby fans raise a glass
- Rugby union fans ready for early doors
- Graph 35: major event behaviours, by events watched live, 2025
- Future interest in live sport
- Three times as many want to attend as currently do so…
- Graph 36: future interest in attending live sports events, 2025
- …but interests remain narrow…
- Graph 37: repertoires of sports interested in attending, 2025
- …and dominated by football
- Graph 38: sports interested in attending, 2025
- Creator Arena
- Focus on cost and comfort to attract more female fans
- Graph 39: interest in attending live sport, by age and gender, 2025
- Events are exciting and social – but expensive too
- Graph 40: perceptions of live sports events, 2025
- Provide sampling opportunities to widen potential spectators’ event horizons
- Graph 41: perceptions of live sports events, by past-year attendance, 2025
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INNOVATION AND MARKETING TRENDS
- Launch activity and innovation
- Horseracing highlights its day-out appeal
- League rebrand and away sections for club rugby union
- Ascot racecards offer a simpler, smarter view
- Arsenal helps fans travel by train to reduce environmental strain
- Fulham ups football’s hospitality game
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APPENDIX
- Market forecast data and methodology
- Market size: underlying data
- Market forecast: underlying data
- Market forecast and prediction intervals
- Forecast methodology
- Report scope and definitions
- Market definition
- Abbreviations and terms
- Consumer research methodology
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