Ambitions laid out to promote Global Britain by hosting world’s biggest sporting events

• UK Sport outlines the nation's international event hosting aspirations and oppotunities next 15 years
• 2030 FIFA World Cup and all three cycling Grand Tours included in list of events under consideration for across the UK
• Events have the potential to attract over 15 million spectators and generate economic impact of almost £2 billion to local communities

The events under consideration not only reflect the ambitions of the sector, but the desire to continue to position the UK on the world stage as a welcoming, active and global nation.

With England and Scotland already confirmed as hosts of the Euro 2020 Football Championships, and the English FA currently conducting feasibility work into the possibility of bidding to host the 2030 FIFA World Cup, the next decade could start and finish with the UK hosting the two biggest events in the world's most popular sport.

Fresh from British cyclists winning all three of the Grand Tours, consideration will also be given to hosting the starts of all three events in the next decade, in a sport which embodies the UK's transformation into a globally successful sporting nation.

In addition to these and other mega event hosting opportunities, UK Sport's programme of National Lottery funded events will seek to attract between 40-60 World and European events across Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth sports across the country by 2025.

The aspirational list will continue to be discussed and refined by sports, cities and UK Sport. These multi-tiered partnerships are fundamental to the UK's success as a place to host incredible international sporting events. The programme of events has the potential to generate almost £2 billion of economic impact and could attract over 15 million spectators.

Events already secured include the 2019 Men's Cricket World Cup, 2019 Netball World Cup, 2019 Solheim Cup, Euro 2020 Football Championships, 2021 Rugby League World Cup, 2022 Commonwealth Games, and 2022 World Gymnastics Championships. There is also a live bid to host the 2021 UEFA Women's Championships.

As the government's specialist major events agency at the UK level, UK Sport shared the sector's future hosting aspirations this week at the Event Partners workshop at Lord's.

Jeremy Wright, Secretary of State of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, said: "The UK has consistently shown that we are a world-leading host of major sporting events. They enhance the country's reputation internationally, increase the profile of sport at home and bring a significant boost to the economy. UK Sport's targets demonstrate our continued ambition to bring the best global sport events to the country and remain a trusted partner of the sporting world."

Dame Katherine Grainger, UK Sport Chair, said: "With passionate spectators, a fantastic portfolio of international sporting venues and the drive to keep improving and innovating, the UK offers the complete package. We want to maintain our standing as a world leader in this area and our ambitious event strategy will help us do just that over the coming decades."

Source: (UK Sport, 2018)