According to marketing agency Two Circles, combined attendances at UK sporting events in 2019 will reach a record high of 75.1 million.

This is a significant increase from the 2018 figure of 74.6 million and it’s no coincidence that women’s sporting events contribute heavily to this. 

Despite football being the main contributor to these attendances with over 50 million tickets sold, the success of this year’s Solheim Cup which was held at Gleneagles and the Netball World Cup which took place at the Liverpool Arena have helped boost these statistics to record numbers.

A spokesperson for the Solheim Cup said that around 80,000 tickets were sold for the tournament, which made it ‘the highest attended women’s golf event ever held in the UK.’ Building on the Ryder Cup which saw over 240,000 spectators at the event, organisers adopted the same model to ensure the women’s event was a success.

This year’s Netball World Cup actually had a smaller host venue than the one used four years ago in Sydney, yet a record 112,000 tickets were purchased for the tournament as a whole, with England’s games selling out entirely. Over six million British fans also said they either ‘followed or attended’ a game according to a survey by YouGov.

The leader of Two Circles, Gareth Balch, said ‘The UK has also shown to be a dependable destination for international federations looking to deliver both amazing atmospheres and commercially-successful competitions.’

Next year will see more stand-alone women’s events feature in the UK, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see attendance figures rise even more. The Vitality Netball Nations Cup, which gets underway in January at Nottingham’s Motorpoint Arena, will be the first to generate fan interest and continue the rise of women’s sport in general.