The results of the economic impact study, carried out by DTZ Pieda Consulting and revealed at UK Sport’s Major Events conference in London on Tuesday, showed spectators, competitors, officials and the media contributed to an extra £2.7m ($4.51m/EUR3.88m) of expenditure in Birmingham and the West Midlands during the championships.
Accommodation was by far the largest expense – accounting for 54 percent of their outlay. Food and drink was the next highest expenditure at 21 percent. Researchers also concluded that 90 percent of UK Sport’s total pre-event £1.1m Lottery award – equating to £970,000 ($1.6m/EUR1.4m) – could be included in the economic impact as the goods and services were delivered locally.
In the West Midlands as a whole therefore, the total expenditure that could be attributed to the staging of the 2003 World Indoor Athletics Championships was £3.7m ($6.18m/EUR5.31m).
Organisers of the event also achieved their major financial objective of breaking even.
Said Richard Callicott, UK Sport’s chief executive: “These results back-up UK Sport’s belief that staging events can be a valuable way for cities to attract increased investment. Birmingham should be commended for its proactive record of bidding for and staging some of the world’s largest sporting events, and it is clearly now reaping the rewards.”
Meanwhile, UK Sport has launched Major Sports Events: The Guide
