The Cost of a Major Sporting Event

Major sporting events not only provide a great spectacle but also lasting legacies for the nations in which they are held. With so many factors to consider before, during and after an event, how much do you think a major, global sporting event costs?

London 2012 Olympics – Last summer saw one of the greatest sporting events ever held on British shores, the London 2012 Olympics. Held between 17^th July – 12^th August, the Games were a celebration of both British culture and global sporting excellence - but be assured, this came at a hefty price. The total cost for the event came to approximately £11bn. The money came from a range of sources including the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Limited, Olympic Delivery Authority, National Lottery, the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the Greater London Authority.

2010 FIFA World Cup – The 19^th FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa in June and July 2010. This was a huge occasion for football as it saw the first ever African nation host the finals and it turned out to be a huge financial success. The total cost of the event came to £21.6m, however ticket sales revenue totalled £185m and, additionally, TV rights revenue amounted to a huge £1.5bn.

2011 Rugby World Cup – Autumn 2011 saw the Rugby World Cup return to the Southern Hemisphere. Held in 12 towns and cities throughout New Zealand’s North and South Islands, the tournament truly reflected the New Zealand Rugby Union's desire to make it a nationwide event. With approximately four million global viewers, the total cost of the event came to £19.8m, a small price tag, many New Zealanders would say, for the host nation to capture the William Webb Ellis Cup on home soil.

2012 Superbowl – The Superbowl is a huge event within the sporting calendar, particularly in the United States. The 2012 final between the New York Giants and New England Patriots was viewed by 111 million people. The total cost came to £17.2m, with ticket sales revenue totalling £44.4m; but it may not come as a shock that this event raked in £12.9bn in TV rights revenue, the most of all the sporting events on this list.

There’s no doubt that sports event management is tough when it comes to large-scale, multi-site events. With organizing committees wanting to keep costs to a minimum, it is imperative that factors such as employee scheduling and workforce management are not overseen. It is by cutting down on unwanted administrative costs and figuring out the exact size of the workforce required that money can be saved. By investing in bespoke employee scheduling and volunteer management software, a lot of money could be saved in the long run.