The ICC Cricket World Cup has been credited with delivering a £350m economic boost to the UK.
An economic impact and benefits analysis, carried out by The Sports Consultancy, shows that the tournament generated a financial impact through money spent in the host economy by event visitors and organisers, business to business supplier contracts and broader consumer spend.
According to the study – carried out on behalf of the International Cricket Council (ICC) – London attracted the most direct economic impact of almost £65m, while semi-final venues Manchester and Birmingham saw a boost of £36.3m and £29.7m respectively.
The tournament had a positive effect on hospitality too, with more than 500,000 bed nights generated, resulting in a direct income of 46.5m. The demand for hotel nights was largely driven by nearly 650,000 out of town spectators, 128,385 of whom were international ticket buyers.
Live coverage of the event reached a global cumulative average audience of 1.6 billion viewers, while digital video content was viewed more than 4.6 billion times – confirming the event’s position as one of the world’s most-watched sporting events.
"The Cricket World Cup 2019 was an outstanding success across all measures which is further underlined by this report," said ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney.
“The rise of cricket tourism is clearly demonstrated with almost 20 per cent of attendees coming from overseas and a total of 85 per cent of ticket-buyers coming from out of town with cricket fans increasingly prepared to travel to support their team.
"We expect this trend to continue to rise as the Asian sub-continent continues rapid economic growth."
The 2019 World Cup took place from 30 May to 14 July and ended with a memorable win for home nation England.
The event has also been credited with providing a shot in the arm for grassroots cricket. A local legacy programme initiated by the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) resulted in more than one million young people aged 5-12 being engaged with the tournament through initiatives such as Cricket World Cup Club Family Days, the Cricket World Cup Schools Programme and fan zone activations.
According to Tom Harrison, CEO of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB), the sustained interest during the World Cup – and England's success – provided a "once-in-a-generation opportunity" to inspire future fans and players to grow the game.
“It was an unforgettable summer of cricket that has elevated the profile of our sport to amazing heights," Harrison said.
