27 May 2009
Manchester World Sport 08 Events - £23 Million of Economic
Impact Generated for the City
Recently completed research has confirmed that the biggest year
of international sport ever in Manchester attracted over 317,000
visitors to the City and generated £23 million of net economic
impact to the Manchester area, along with providing social and
participatory benefits for community and youth groups across the
city and the Northwest.
Manchester City Council and its major sports events partners
commissioned Ipsos MORI North, in conjunction with Experian, to
undertake a research study to assess the economic benefits
associated with each of the Manchester World Sport 08 events, along
with the collective impacts across the city’s biggest series of
sporting events ever and the most significant year of world sport
for Manchester since the XVII Commonwealth Games in
2002.
The study, which included primary research with spectators,
revealed that the events supported a total of 499 full-time
equivalent jobs in the Manchester area and that for almost all of
the attendees across all of the events, the sport was the only or
one of the main reasons for coming to Manchester. 11% of
attendees were first time visitors to Manchester and of those, 85%
enjoyed their experience of the city so much, they are likely to
return within the next three years.
The 9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 and the UEFA Cup
Final 2008 contributed £7million and £11million of net impact
across Manchester, respectively.
Councillor Mike Amesbury, Manchester City Council’s Executive
Member for Culture and Leisure, said:
“Manchester connects all its major events to the city's Sports
Development and Community Sports programme, one of the most
successful in the country.
“The hugely positive impacts of Manchester World Sport 08
demonstrate the Council’s commitment to delivering social benefits
to residents by maximising opportunities for inclusion and
participation, while harnessing the considerable contribution that
major sports events can make to the local economy.”
Manchester won the accolade of world’s top Sport City at the
SportBusiness Sports Event Management Awards in November 2008,
ahead of Melbourne, Berlin, Doha, Moscow and New York. Many
of the individual MWS08 events were acknowledged as being
groundbreaking and won awards for excellence, including the 9th
FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 (25m) which saw two
temporary swimming pools constructed in the MEN Arena and the sport
itself being presented in a more theatrical manner.
In addition, the BUPA Great Manchester Run became the first 10k
event in Europe and only the second in the world to be categorised
as one of the world's leading road races with the award of the
International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold
Label status.
Several of the Manchester World Sport 08 events were key to the
preparation of Team GB’s Olympians and Paralympians ahead of
success at the 2008 Bejing games. Rebecca Adlington, Sir Chris Hoy
and David Weir all won gold in Manchester last year before going on
to further glory at the Olympics.
Events are a key component of Manchester City Council’s
Marketing Strategy. The MWS08 series was also closely aligned
to the strategies of the other MWS08 key stakeholders and partners:
NWDA; UK Sport; Marketing Manchester; and MEN Media, part of GMG
Regional Media - with major sport events having a wider role in
ensuring that Manchester’s burgeoning reputation as a global sports
city is maintained, particularly in the run-up to London 2012.
Complementing the MWS08 benefits to the city’s international
reputation and economy, Manchester residents and in particular the
city’s schools and community groups, were able to take part in a
series of related activities and competitions that ran alongside
each event and had the chance to use the numerous sports facilities
at Sportcity.
Peter Mearns, Executive Director for Marketing and
Communications at the NWDA said: “This level of economic impact
shows just how important major sporting events are to the regional
economy. It is a fantastic figure obtained from Manchester
hosting a unique number of high-quality international sporting
events and world championships.
“I am delighted the NWDA has been a key player in attacting and
supporting these events, which have provided a huge boost in
visitor numbers and economic benefit not only for Manchester but
the wider region.”
Andrew Stokes, chief executive of Marketing Manchester, the
agency charged with promoting the city on a national and
international stage, said: “Tourism is a £5.6bn industry in Greater
Manchester and the sports events of 2008 are a great example of how
the sector contributes both financially and culturally to the
city-region. What is important now is to build on this success and
continue to bring world championship sports events to
Manchester.”
Simon Morton, Senior Events Consultant at UK Sport, said:
"UK Sport brings strategically important international sporting
events, like last year's World Swimming and Track Cycling
Championships, to the UK in order to boost the performance of our
athletes. These events, hosted in Manchester, played a significant
role in preparing British athletes for success at the Olympic and
Paralympic Games, as seen in Beijing last summer.
"The city of Manchester will continue to play a key role in our
World Class Events Programme throughout the coming years, as we
prepare British athletes, volunteers, and officials for our home
Games in London in 2012."
Mark Dodson, Chief Executive Officer, GMG Regional Media
said:
“We were proud to support these events which shone a spotlight on
Manchester and its vibrant sport scene. Our editorial sports
team dedicated many pages of coverage in our print media and
Channel M promoted events to a wide audience across the
region. Our partnership underlines our commitment to
bringing the best sports coverage to the community across the range
of media platforms.”
The Manchester World Sport 08 events were:
UCI Track Cycling World Championships: 26 – 30 March
9th FINA World Swimming Championships 2008 (25m): 9 – 13
April
Paralympic World Cup: 7 – 11 May
UEFA Cup Final 2008: 14 May
BUPA Great Manchester Run: 18 May
Hi-Tec World Squash Championships Manchester 2008: 11 – 19
October
Manchester is continuing to present international sport in 2009
with major events, including:
BUPA Great Manchester Run;
BT Paralympic World Cup;
Standard Bank Cup Argentina vs England Rugby Union
International;
LEN European Women’s Water Polo Trophy;
BTCB British International Taekwondo Open Championship;
Co-operative World Netball Series;
UCI Track Cycling World Cup Classic
and the UCI Paracycling World Championships.
For information on Manchester World Sport visit www.manchesterworldsport.com
MEDIA CONTACT: Claire Keegan, Manchester City Council Press
Office tel: 0161 234 4014.
All Manchester City Council news releases are available at www.manchester.gov.uk
ENDS
Notes to Editors:
Manchester City Council: Major Sports Events
Manchester is proud to have been voted the world's leading Sport
City in 2008, recognition for the city's commitment to delivering a
comprehensive sporting programme that connects major events to
community sport, elite performance, facility development,
volunteering, training and education. The Co-operative World
Netball Series is one of a number of major events being hosted in
Manchester in 2009, which whilst supporting the objectives of our
key national and regional partners, will continue to provide the
city and its residents with opportunities to achieve their full
potential through sport.
www.manchester.gov.uk
Marketing Manchester
Marketing Manchester is the agency charged with promoting the city
on a national and international stage. It aims to develop Greater
Manchester into a leading leisure, learning and business tourist
destination, enhance the reputation of the city-region and promote
sustainable economic development and growth. Visit Manchester is
the tourist board for Greater Manchester and is a division of
Marketing Manchester.
www.visitmanchester.com
The Northwest Regional Development Agency (NWDA)
The NWDA leads the economic development and regeneration of
England's Northwest and is responsible for:
-Supporting business growth and encouraging investment
-Matching skills provision to employer needs
-Creating the conditions for economic growth
-Connecting the region through effective transport and
communication infrastructure
-Promoting the region’s outstanding quality of life
As part of its work to support these objectives, the NWDA
works with partners to secure world-class events, which are
distinctive and capable of attracting large numbers of visitors
from outside the region and which significantly enhance the profile
of the region. www.nwda.co.uk/press
UK Sport
UK Sport's mission is to work in partnership to lead sport in the
UK to world-class success. Our overall goal is to help British
athletes achieve a top four finish in the medal table at the 2012
Olympic Games and to retain second place at the Paralympic Games.
To achieve this we focus on World Class Performance, thereby
ensuring our athletes can access the support they need to compete
and win at the highest level. This primary goal is supported by
work in the areas of Worldwide Impact (building Britain's
reputation on the global sporting scene) and World-Class Standards
(ensuring British athletes succeed fairly and cleanly). Part of our
remit is to co-ordinate and participate in the UK's efforts to bid
for and stage major events on home soil. Through our Lottery-funded
World Class Events Programme we have supported the bidding for and
staging of over 100 events of World, European and Commonwealth
status since 1997. For more information visit www.uksport.gov.uk
GMG Regional Media
MEN Media, part of GMG Regional Media is a strategic partner of
Manchester Leisure (Manchester City Council) and as such, helps the
organisation to raise the profile of its local Community Strategy
objectives and raise public awareness of both sports events and
sporting participation opportunities across the city.
MEN Media is also committed to showcasing the delivery of
community sport programmes and initiatives within the city, which
support the wider community agenda, including health, crime and
disorder as well as grassroots sport.
It is supportive of the city's Major Sport Events Strategy and
Sports Policy and, through the city's links with National Governing
Bodies, International Federations and the English Institute of
Sport, helps promote the city's impressive programme of
championship sports events.