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January 26, 2024
Historically, London has been a leading host of world-class sporting events facilitated by state-of-the-art venues, six airports serving 180 destinations worldwide and a diverse city where communities from almost every nation speak more than 300 languages daily.
Now, the Greater London Authority (GLA) wants to evaluate the impact of major sporting events (MSE’s) held there. Earlier this month, it announced that it had commissioned social impact and sustainability consultancy, thinkBeyond, as its Major Sports Event Evaluation Research Partner. The consultancy, and Beyond Sport sister company, will measure the environmental sustainability, social inclusion, economic impact and global reach of MSE’s to help guide future strategies.
The collaboration will study events ranging from 2023 to 2025 including the upcoming UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium, two regular season games between MLB’s New York Mets and Philadelphia Phillies at London Stadium, three NFL regular season games at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and Wembley Stadium, as well as Diamond League Athletics, Formula E and the Women’s Rugby World Cup.
“At the heart of our business is harnessing the power of sport to make a positive difference in the world. Not only do major sports events help maintain London’s position as a global economic powerhouse, they also deliver on the mayor’s priority areas of tackling inequalities, supporting Londoners to be active citizens, protecting the environment and bringing communities together,” said thinkBeyond Managing Partner, Sam Shave. “We’re delighted to begin working with the GLA to help grow London’s portfolio of major events and ensure sport can have an even greater impact on the city.”
Understanding how diversity is enhanced will be one of the primary goals of the partnership. More precisely, how to bring communities together while also confronting the issue of hatred. Another point of interest is how hosting impacts the city’s economic growth. Finally, how to consider environmental suitability in light of climate change concerns.
The consultancy has completed several projects in the past in the field of sustainability impact. Some of these include the World Athletics Championship, the UEFA Women’s Euro in 2022 and the Commonwealth Games in 2022.
The Mayor of London’s office has noted that bringing people together and improving lives is at the heart of his approach to sport in London. “Our city lives and breathes sport and at a time when our society too often seems divided, I want to utilize this to strengthen the bonds between our communities and help make London the most socially integrated and active city in the world,” Mayor Sadiq Khan previously stated.
Sources: Inside the Games, Sport Industry Group
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