Record numbers watching Sport in UK

PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) has shown their analysis to be a record year for attendances at sporting events.

Data was taken at four high profile events. They were the Tennis Championships at Wimbledon, capsule The British Formula one Grand Prix and two horse racing meeting which were Royal Ascot and The Cheltenham Festival. The four events enjoyed their best ever attendances.

Julie Clark, UK head of sport at PwC, said: “Despite uncertainties around the strength of the UK’s economic recovery, these figures demonstrate the sustained appetite for live sport in the UK. The public continue to be attracted to the live experience and sense of occasion offered by the highest profile sporting events; a trend confirmed by the huge demand for tickets to the London 2012 Olympic Games.”

There was a 1% growth at Wimbledon where 494,761 fans attended. It is however a 13 day event which explains the huge number.

Over three days Grand Prix at Silverstone attracted 315,000.

Attractive prices have helped with more than 28,500 fans at  Lord’s for the fifth and final day of the first Test against India at the end of July this year – the highest attendance for the fifth day of a Test match in the history of the ground and 4,500 more than the final day of the Ashes Test match at the same venue two years ago.