The multi-million pound legacy of the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics has just been revealed. More than £130m has been generated in the capital and a total of 1.3 million spectators have attended major events there since the summer games six years ago.
According to a new report published by UK Sport, there have been 25 National Lottery and taxpayer-funded events held in London since 2012. These include the 2013 Triathlon World Grand Final, the 2016 UCI Track Cycling World Championships and the 2017 IAAF Athletics World Championships.
In August last year, the IAAF event created an economic impact of £79m alone and attracted 705,000 spectators. The IPC Para Athletics World Championships in July had an impact of £28m and attracted 305,000 spectators.
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Esther Britten, UK Sport’s head of major events, said: “Six years on from London 2012, it is fantastic to demonstrate such a strong major events legacy from the Olympic and Paralympic Games and our work in this area has significantly enhanced our international reputation.
“The significant economic impact comes on top of the benefits athletes receive when competing on home soil, in addition to the phenomenal opportunities spectators and volunteers enjoy when experiencing live sport.
“Every London 2012 venue has hosted world-class competition since the Games, while they have also been open to the general public, allowing people of all ages to use the same arenas as their inspirational Olympic and Paralympic heroes.”
Major events since the London 2012 Olympics
According to the UK Sport report, since London 2012 a total of 25 events has generated an economic impact of £133,929,924 and attracted 1,364,992 spectators.
Women’s Hockey World League
- When: June 2013
- Number of spectators: 10,700
Pruhealth Triathlon World Grand Final
- When: 11-15 September 2013
- Economic impact: £6,780,000
- Number of spectators: 28,433
FINA.NVC Diving World Series
- When: 25-27 April 2014
- Economic impact: £142,000
- Number of spectators: 5,863
Pruhealth World Triathlon
- When: 31 May-1 June 2014
- Economic impact: £1,410,000
- Number of spectators: 27,500
ICF Canoe Slalom World Cup
- When: 6-8 June 2014
- Economic impact: £493,421
- Number of spectators: 5,000
NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters
- When: 26-30 November 2014
- Economic impact: £168,592
- Number of spectators: 2,718
UCI Track Cycling World Cup
- When: 5-7 December 2014
- Economic impact: £1,108,371
- Number of spectators: 22,073
World Series of Boxing
- When: February-April 2015
- Economic impact: £600,000
- Number of spectators: 6,250
Diving World Series
- When: 1-3 May 2015
- Economic impact: £150,000
- Number of spectators: 9,765
Vitality World Triathlon London
- When: 30-31 May 2015
- Economic impact: £980,000
- Number of spectators: 25,000
Unibet EuroHockey
- When: 21-30 August 2015
- Economic impact: £2,430,000
- Number of spectators: 46,204
ICF Canoe Slalom World Championships
- When: 16-20 September 2015
- Economic impact: £1,280,000
- Number of spectators: 8,060
BT World Wheelchair Rugby Challenge
- When: 12-16 October 2015
- Economic impact: £176,000
- Number of spectators: 7,000
NEC Wheelchair Tennis Masters
- When: 2-6 December 2015
- Economic impact: £338,000
- Number of spectators: 3,193
World Series of Boxing York
- When: January-May 2016
- Number of spectators: 1,790
UCI Track Cycling World Championships
- When: 2-6 March 2016
- Economic impact: £3,220,000
- Number of spectators: 52,450
LEN European Aquatics Championships
- When: 9-22 May 2016
- Economic impact: £4,740,000
- Number of spectators: 26,034
Hockey Champions Trophy
- When: 10-26 June 2016
- Number of spectators: 35,935
Boxing World Series
- When: March 2017
- Economic impact: £533,540
- Number of spectators: 3,005
FIG Gymnastics World Cup
- When: 8 April 2017
- Economic impact: £280,000
- Number of spectators: 17,267
FIH Men’s World League
- When: 15-25 June 2017
- Economic impact: £1.2m
- Number of spectators: 9,299
IPC Para Athletics World Championships
- When: 14-23 July 2017
- Economic impact: £28m
- Number of spectators: 305,000
IAAF Athletics World Championships
- When: 4-13 August 2017
- Economic impact: £79m
- Number of spectators: 705,000
World Para Taekwondo Championships and World Taekwondo GP
- When: 19-22 October 2017
- Economic impact: £900,000
- Number of spectators: 1,453
