Representatives from across the global events industry gathered at a roundtable organised by the International Association of Event Hosts (IAEH) to discuss the future of major sporting events. Recurring themes included the need to engage audiences, measure impact and communicate value amid rising hosting costs and growing scrutiny of publicly funded events.

“We are entertainment”

Hugh Brasher, co-founder of Athletics Ventures – a joint venture between UK Athletics, Great Run and London Marathon Events – argued that sports rights holders must increasingly see themselves as part of the entertainment industry.

“We are entertainment,” he said. “Sports rights holders need to understand they are entertainment.”

Brasher said mass-participation events such as the London Marathon succeed because they create platforms for participants to generate their own experiences and narratives.

“You have to think about how you are going to be more entertaining,” he said. “We need to look at what works on different platforms such as TikTok.”

He also highlighted Athletics Ventures’ “playground to podium” approach to widening participation across demographics and making the commercial offering more suitable to bigger brands.

“The London Marathon used to be predominantly white male participants,” he said. “Now it is a sea of everyday people. If you see people who look like you doing it, you think you can do it.”

Brasher added that marathon running occupies a unique position among sports because elite athletes compete directly alongside amateur participants.

“There is no other sport where world record breakers compete alongside the man on the street.”

He said that the most important thing to do in expanding your offering is to find the right partners to grow with: companies with the same values and whose strengths compliment your own.

Economic returns

As well as the London Marathon, Athletics Ventures’ portfolio includes the London Athletics Meet, the UK Indoor and Outdoor Athletics Championships and the 2026 European Athletics Championships. The organisation is also working on the UK bid for the 2029 World Athletics Championships, which has received support from the Prime Minister.

According to Brasher, hosting the event would deliver a 9:1 return on investment. “It’s a no-brainer to back the bid” he said.

Iain Edmondson of Legacy Delivery Ltd supported this claim, pointing to a £40-50m investment equating to up to £450m socioeconomic return for which estimates have already been made, based on benchmarks from previous events.

Governments are increasingly willing to support major sporting events where organisers can clearly demonstrate social and economic returns, Edmondson said.

He highlighted to the UK’s growing pipeline of events, including the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the 2027 Grand Depart of both the Tour de France and Tour de France Femme and UEFA Euro 2028.

“A lot of money is going into these,” Edmondson said. “Government is being the advocate, saying it’s worth the investment.”

The UK Government is exploring the possibility of a future northern England Olympic bid, alongside new policy developments around stadium regeneration, a proposed Sporting Events Bill aimed at simplifying the process of bidding for and delivering major events, and the appointment of Lord McConnell as adviser on soft power and major events.

Rising costs and public funding pressures

IAEH Finance Director Joel Lavery, of the West Midlands Growth Company, warned that international federations often underestimate the financial realities facing host cities.

“Federations often come into cities with unrealistic expectations of what public funding can afford,” he said.

Perttu Pesa, IAEH Chair and Major Events Director at Tampere, also cited escalating costs as a major concern for future hosts.

“Existential threat” to major events

Dr Mike Duignan of the Centre for Events and Festivals argued that the global events industry is struggling to communicate its wider social and economic value.

“Worldwide, we face an existential threat to major events. Many people think they are not a good thing,” he said.

“I believe they are a good thing; we’ve just been poor at articulating it.”

He criticised the lack of formal professional structures within the sector, describing the industry as “a bit of a wild west”.

“The business events industry is the 16th biggest in the world, but is poor at advocacy,” he said.

Duignan warned that organisers often rely on fragmented or insufficient data when assessing impact.

“Datasets from individual events are nearly always too small. We assume a lot in events.”

He added that advances in big data and AI present both opportunities and challenges for demonstrating value and long-term impact.

“Veracity matters,” he said. “We can’t tell truthful enough stories about the impact we have.”

Reputation and rights

Sports lawyer Yasin Patel of Church Court Chambers said reputational risk is an increasingly important factor for sports organisations and venue owners, citing controversies involving Manchester United and footballer Mason Greenwood.

He also noted that media rights continue to represent the single largest revenue source in professional sport.

Brasher concluded by cautioning against over-ambition in creating entirely new event concepts.

“Creating new IP for unique events is incredibly difficult. It’s better to add shoulder events to what you’ve already got.”