The Union Cycliste Internationale (UCI) today publishes a report compiled by professional services firm EY on the significant positive 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 annual quest for the UCI World Champion’s rainbow jersey is a major highlight on the UCI International Calendar, across cycling’s various disciplines. With the lifting in many parts of the world of all travel restrictions introduced due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the host regions of various UCI World Championships were able to welcome visitors from all over the world in 2022.
The report prepared by EY reveals that not far off 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, while 11,000 unique visitors (including more than 4,000 from outside the Saint Quentin-en-Yvelines region for a total attendance of 17,000) flocked to the French Vélodrome National.
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, which took place on 18-25 September 2022, are a good example of the benefits that staging a major UCI event can bring to a host city/region:
- the event 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, which took place from 12 to 16 October 2022 in a velodrome with a capacity of 5,000 people, 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 (comparison 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.”
Read the report: Union Cycliste Internationale - Events economic impact report - Annual review of 2022.
