UK Attendance Review – 2025 Edition

Attending More, Paying More, Expecting More: UK Sports Attendance Hits Record 79m

In 2025, ticketed professional sport in the UK recorded its highest attendance on record, with 79.4 million attendances across all sports. This represented a year-on-year increase of 1.67 million from 2024 and remained well above pre-pandemic benchmarks (73.8 million in 2019). Having ranked as the world’s number one sports attendance market per capita in 2024, the UK’s continued growth reinforces its position as the global capital of live sport.

Yet again, 2025 proved fans’ appetite for live sport in the UK was insatiable. It was not only a record year for attendance, but also for spend on sports tickets. This took place against the backdrop of a continued cost of living crisis in the UK, with many consumers tightening discretionary spend elsewhere.

The growth in attendance was achieved despite average sports ticket prices increasing by 5% year-on-year, reinforcing the reality that for the right value exchange and the right experience, fans will resolutely continue to show up at live sport.

The newly released data highlights that, while average ticket prices are rising, many sports organisations are becoming more sophisticated and intentional in their approach to pricing. Across most of the market, entry price points are flat or only slowly increasing (on average the cheapest available tickets per event increased by just 1%), with ticket inflation disproportionately concentrated at the top end of ticket product ranges, where more premium experiences correspond to higher price points.

Leading operators are thereby treating price as a tool for reflecting – rather than extracting – value. Properties growing their market share of attendance are disproportionately reinvesting ticketing income back into venues, service levels, matchday experience, product innovation and the on-field spectacle.

Notably, the top three most attended sports – football, horse racing and rugby – all recorded year-on-year growth in 2025. This is the first time all three of the largest sports have grown attendances simultaneously since before the pandemic, indicating category-wide momentum across the attendance marketplace.

Attendance growth was also seen outside the top three sports. Ice hockey attracted 1.3 million attendees across the year. Separately, sumo wrestling drew new fans with its sold-out five-night run at the Royal Albert Hall, attracting 25,000 fans and highlighting the increasingly diverse sporting tastes of UK audiences.

A Record-Breaking Year For Women’s Rugby

Women’s rugby was the headline act. The 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup became the most attended event in the tournament’s history, with the final attracting an audience six times bigger than when the tournament was last held in the UK in 2010. The 2025 final set an all-time attendance record for a women’s match in the process and the tournament – which sold more than 440,000 tickets across the competition – also had a kick on effect on domestic attendances, with the PWR opening weekend up 183% from last year.

Enduring Tentpole Events

The UK’s most-attended single-venue sporting events have remained unchanged for over a decade: The Wimbledon Championships (548k), the British Grand Prix (500k), Royal Ascot (286k), The Open at Portrush (278k) and Cheltenham Festival (218k). This consistency highlights the enduring appeal of events that successfully balance deep-rooted traditions with continued innovation in fan experience.

Sam Taylor, Major Events Director at Two Circles, said of the newly released data, “While ticket prices continue to rise, the growing narrative is how sport is being priced and delivered. The UK remains the world’s strongest live sport market on a per-capita basis, and the 2025 data reinforces that fans want high-quality live experiences and, even amid broader economic pressures are willing to pay when the value exchange feels right.”

Sport In Context: Value Versus Inflation

Heather Reading, Client Services Director at Two Circles, added, “Price increases often make headlines but when viewed within the wider landscape of live entertainment, sports ticket pricing has remained comparatively restrained. In the UK, it’s not uncommon for comparable music concert ticket prices to rise by 10% a year or more. Sports’ advantage, meanwhile, lies in its seasonal and recurrent nature – this creates the opportunity for the industry to think differently about price. It is an opportunity to reward loyalty, segment audiences more intelligently, and build long-term value.”

The 2025 data reinforces a simple truth: fans crave live sports experiences, and when pricing, product and experience move forward together, sport continues to thrive even in challenging economic conditions.

For media enquires contact:
Eliza MacQuillan
Communications Manager
+447938912705
eliza.macquillan@twocircles.com