Why Major Sports Events Are Big Business for London

Sport is not just part of London’s brand. It is one of the assets that defines the city’s global position – shaping how investors, visitors and international partners see London, and helping to sustain its reputation as an outward-facing, confident global capital. Successive mayors have understood this. Sadiq Khan has gone further, repeatedly describing London as “the sporting capital of the world”, and deliberately using major events as a central plank of his economic and cultural strategy.

The evidence backs him. London has always been able to stage world-class events, but the 2012 Olympics created something rare: a genuine long-term legacy that still underpins confidence in London as a host. Where other global cities have struggled to maintain momentum after a mega-event, London’s post-2012 model is still held up as the benchmark inside government, at City Hall, and by international federations. It is the reason London is taken seriously when it signals interest in future Games, including the feasibility work now under way for 2040.

City Hall has been active in building on that momentum. Since 2016, the Mayor has treated major sport as both a diplomatic tool and an economic priority. Last year alone, six flagship events – from the NFL London series and Formula E to the UEFA Champions League Final and the MLB London Series – delivered more than £230m in direct economic impact and drew close to half a million spectators. Few cities can match London’s ability to host high-value American sports showcases. More than three million fans have now attended NFL games in London, generating an estimated £600m of spending since 2007. That success has not gone unnoticed: senior US sports executives are now regular visitors to City Hall.

The Mayor’s team has also recognised the value of sports entertainment as a driver of reach and cultural relevance. Engagement with WWE leadership, including hosting Paul Levesque, reflects a deliberate effort to broaden London’s sporting proposition. WrestleMania may be a longer-term discussion, but the City Hall view is that major WWE events are well within reach.

London’s advantage is structural as well as political. The city combines a central time zone, world-class venues, unrivalled hospitality, and global connectivity with a track record of excellence across football, rugby, tennis, cricket, athletics and emerging formats. UEFA’s repeated confidence – Euros finals in 2020 and 2022, and a return in 2028 – reinforces London’s position as Europe’s default host when certainty and scale are required. The bid to bring back the World Athletics Championships in 2029 rests on the same logic: London delivers.

Looking ahead, the bar for hosting will rise. Political support, fan engagement, sustainability, legacy and social impact will matter as much as economic return. Cities will be expected to prove not only that they can host, but that they can integrate events into wider urban, cultural and economic ambitions. London is already designing around that reality, leaning heavily on the 2012 legacy and widening partnerships across business, sport and culture.

Against this backdrop, global sports events – and potentially franchises, with both the NBA and NFL exploring options for more permanent London footprints – are becoming more strategic, more competitive and more politically significant. But they are also an arena where London has a decade of proven delivery, deep institutional expertise, and a city leadership that understands the value of sport as part of its global identity.

And that combination is why London remains the most serious international contender for the next generation of flagship events and franchises.