The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) has published a report on the economic impact of the 2022 UCI Road World Championships in Wollongong (Australia) and the 2022 Tissot UCI Track World Championships in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines (France). This is the fifth report that the UCI has commissioned on its major events.
The report prepared by EY reveals that up to 100,000 unique visitors (including 41,000 from outside the Wollongong region, for a total attendance of 236,000) were present at the 2022 UCI Road World Championships.
Meanwhile 11,000 unique visitors (including more than 4,000 from outside the Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines region for a total attendance of 17,000) visited the French National Vélodrome for the 2022 Tissot UCI Track World Championships.
The report also revealed that between them the UCI World Championships for road and track generated nearly €40 million in economic activity for the host cities and regions.
The 2022 UCI Road World Championships took place on September 18-25, 2022, in Wollongong (Australia):
- The event reportedly generated more than €35.6 million in economic activity for the host city and region, with the equivalent of 930 jobs created over a year;
- The event had a high satisfaction rate: 97% of those who attended were satisfied;
- This satisfaction was reflected in their positive view of Wollongong as a holiday destination: 88% of Australian visitors from other regions and 74% of visitors from other countries would recommend Wollongong as a holiday destination;
- The event was also widely broadcast on television (in 59 countries for a cumulative audience of 132 million viewers) and covered on social media (7.5 million impressions on Instagram, 14.3 million on Twitter and a total reach of 14.3 million on Facebook).
The 2022 Tissot UCI Track World Championships, took place from October 12-16, 2022 in Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines (France):
- The French velodrome event, with a capacity of 5,000 people, reportedly generated more than €3.5 million in economic activity for the host city and region, with the equivalent of 89 new jobs created over a year.
- In comparison, the edition organised in Berlin (Germany) in 2020 generated €2.7 million in economic activity (although comparisons cannot be realistically made with the 2021 edition, which took place during the Covid-19 pandemic).
UCI President David Lappartient said “The lifting of travel restrictions in many parts of the world in 2022 allowed our UCI World Championships to return to their pre-pandemic attendance levels, and even to record figures that herald their future growth.
“The report published today in collaboration with EY shows that hosting major UCI events not only encourages people to adopt more active and sustainable modes of travel, but is also very attractive from an economic point of view.”
Peter Arnold, EY’s UK Chief Economist, said “UCI cycling events continued to bring significant economic benefits in 2022. The full removal of travel restrictions across large parts of the world saw spectators able to travel in great numbers to attend the events, supporting local economies through tourism expenditure.
“The legacy of cycling events can bring further socio-economic benefits, including improved health outcomes through inspiring increased levels of cycling.”
