- The return on investment (ROI) of the international sports event was 17 times the budget allocated by the Basque Government, Bizkaia Regional Council and the City Council of Bilbao.
- According to the impact study carried out by Ikertalde, the Basque people felt involved in the Final of the UWCL, considering it an excellent opportunity for local economic growth and for the promotion of a more egalitarian society.
- Attendance at the event held at San Mamés beat all records for a final of this category, attracting 50,827 people to the Bilbao stadium, and mobilising a total of 72,518 people.
The UEFA Women’s Champions League (UWCL) Final 2024, held in San Mamés on 25 May, generated an impact of 23 million Euro for the Basque economy. This figure is equivalent to a return on investment (ROI) that is 17 times the budget allocated among the three Basque institutions, the Basque Government, Bizkaia Regional Council and the City Council of Bilbao, for the promotion of this sporting event; furthermore, it resulted in an addition to the GDP of Euskadi of 13.18 million Euro and a direct economic return in the administration of 4.37 million Euro.
In the breakdown of total income, more than 2.9 million Euro came from the contracting of services from up to 87 Basque companies; almost 2.7 million Euro more resulted from the stay and expenditure in Euskadi of non-residents for the organisation of the event; 8.8 million Euro were from the expenditure made by people attending the match (overnight stays, hostelry, retail trade, transport, tourist activities…), in addition to over 1.1 million Euro for expenditure by the people who came for the atmosphere. Lastly, the remaining 7.4 million Euro are from the intermediate production triggered by these economic injections along the inter-sector value chain -induced impact in the Basque economy-.
This is confirmed by the impact report for the Final of the UWCL 2024 prepared by Ikertalde for the organising committee. This measures the scope of the event from an economic, social, environmental and media point of view. To prepare the report, in addition to considering the data from the organisation of the event, and interviews with collaborators and promoting bodies, a total of 1301 surveys were also carried out among the people attending the match, the people who came for the atmosphere and the Basque people in general.
As well as going down in history for the record attendance at a Final of the Women’s Champions, attracting 50,827 spectators to San Mamés, the report estimates that 21,691 people actively took part in the different activation zones created in the City for the event, even though they did not have tickets to attend the match. Thus, the European sports event contributed to mobilising 72,518 people.
58% of all the people mobilised were women, as were 60% of those who enjoyed the Final in situ in San Mamés. With respect to origin, over a third of the people mobilised were from Euskadi (25,000 individuals) and 28% were Catalan, as FC Barcelona was one of the two finalists. These figures mean that 65.4% of the participants were not from Euskadi and had come to Bilbao-Bizkaia-Euskadi from other destinations.
Participation in the event was particularly characterised by young people (72% under the age of 45) who travelled in large groups of family and friends, highlighting and praising the festive, family-friendly, safe, collaborative and pleasant atmosphere created.
33,719 people stayed overnight in Euskadi, equivalent to 84% of the overnight stays in Bizkaia, mainly in the network of hotels and tourist apartments in Bilbao, with an average stay of 2 nights. It is important to note that almost 8 out of 10 of the people who stayed overnight took the opportunity for some tourism in Bilbao-Bizkaia-Euskadi, enjoying the cultural and leisure tourism offer. In addition, it is of note that 71% of the tourism generated would highly recommend Bilbao and 76% of the tourists mobilised said they would be willing to return, implying a stimulus to tourism in the future.
A QUALITY EXPERIENCE
The Final of the UWCL 2024 was an extremely positive experience for the people attending the match in the stadium, with an average level of satisfaction of 8.7 out of 10. Similarly, the people mobilised but without a ticket to the match marked their experience with an 8.4 out of 10.
Among the most valued aspects with an excellent score are comfort, functionality and atmosphere of San Mamés stadium (9.2/10), the cost of the ticket (9/10), safety in the city (8.9/10), the hostelry offer in the city (8.8/10), the enthusiasm and support of the local people (8.7/10), and the quality of the tourism offer of Bilbao (8.7/10) as well as the organisation of the event (signs, information and facilities) and the Fan Meeting Points for the two teams, both with a score of 8.6/10.
Of particular note among the opportunities for improvement mentioned by those consulted were the high prices of accommodation and hostelry.
SOCIAL IMPACT AND OPPORTUNITIES
75.8% of the Basque people consulted consider that the holding of the Final of the UWCL 2024 was one step further in the equality of gender and opportunities in the sport, and believe that the event has contributed positively to the work for gender equality. In addition, 8 out of 10 people asked agree that the event will make football and sport more attractive for girls from Euskadi, and they believe it will improve the capacity of Bilbao-Bizkaia-Euskadi to organise major events in the future, attracting and establishing a new contingent of football supporters, with new family and cooperative values.
The Basque people consulted share institutional expectations with respect to the legacy: in general terms, 81% expressed satisfaction with the celebration of the Final of the UWCL 2024, and consider that it has been an opportunity for local economic growth and for Basque business development.
MEDIA IMPACT
The Final of the UWCL 2024 recorded 4,512 hits in the press, on radio, television and in social media between January and June, with an accumulated economic value of 39.1 million Euro, highlighting the equivalent advertising value of these hits. Online and social media were the channels to receive the most mentions linked to the Final (72%). 43% of the total mentions were in media outlets with international cover.
As part of the strategy to attract major events, following the success of the celebration of the Grand Départ Pays Basque in July 2023 and the positive figures mentioned above for the Final of the UEFA Women’s Champions League 2024, the next major sporting event will be on 21 May 2025, when, for the first time, San Mamés will host a Final of the UEFA Europa League.
