Despite the challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, the Men’s WFC 2020 and the Women’s WFC 2021 delivered wide-ranging benefits to the host cities and the sport as a whole, according to event evaluation reports conducted by Quantum Consultancy, an Edinburgh-based sport and event consultancy.
The Women’s WFC 2021 which took place in Uppsala, Sweden from 27 November – 5 December 2021 generated a direct economic impact of €1.09m, a figure which was largely driven by 1,468 overnight visitors that stayed in Uppsala County and contributed more than 9,000 bed nights. 86% of spectators and 89% of players reported a positive experience at the WFC 2021. The event was well-received by the local community with 9 in 10 Uppsala residents attending the competition stating a sense of pride from the fact that the WFC 2021 was hosted in Sweden.
Hosting the Men’s WFC 2020 on 3-11 December 2021 was equally successful for Helsinki, Finland. It is estimated that the direct economic impact from hosting the event totalled €7.18m, with the expenditure of visiting spectators on accommodation, shopping, food and drinks accounting for more than 72% of the total impact. 86% of all spectators came from outside Helsinki to attend the event and a majority of fans had a pleasant experience at the event.
Both WFCs enjoyed strong media coverage with around 380 hours of coverage aired for each event. For the first time coverage was secured in Canada and USA on major networks, while the Women’s WFC 2021 was aired on W Sport in 54 territories in Sub-Saharan Africa.
The full evaluation reports are accessible via the following links:
IFF Men’s World Championships 2020 – Evaluation Report
IFF Women’s World Championships 2021 – Evaluation Report
–We are very happy to receive this valuable analytics of our major events. In particular, in the event-free times due to the pandemic, it is important to understand where our events stand in the world of sports. Furthermore, the reports provide great feedback to the local organisers as well as an added value for the countries and associations bidding to host the IFF events in the future, John Liljelund, IFF Secretary General.
– The IFF is one of only a few international federations that did not lose any of its pinnacle events to the Covid-19 pandemic. In this context the outcome of the WFC 2020 and WFC 2021 is testament to the commitment of the IFF and the local organisers to stage these world-class sporting events against the odds, said Colin Stewart, Quantum Co-Founder and Director of Consulting.
As part of a long-term agreement with the IFF, Quantum provides strategic evaluation services to assess the impact of the Men’s and Women’s WFC throughout the 2021-2024 period. Quantum is also providing a monitoring service to report on progress made towards objectives set out within the IFF Strategy 2021-2032.
