Sponsorship of major events contributes £150m to North West economy: NWDA

Major events supported by the Northwest Regional Development Agency (known as the NWDA) have contributed £150 million to the Northwest economy in the last five years. The figure has been achieved through a prestigious line-up of sporting, cultural and business events, says the agency, which has included the Uefa Women’s Football Championships, FINA World Swimming Championships, the Paralympic World Cup, the Turner Prize, Liverpool Biennial, Manchester International Festival, Liverpool Business Summit, World Squash Championships, the Tour of Britain and the Great North Swim.

Building on the major success of Manchester’s 2002 Commonwealth Games, in 2004 the NWDA became the first RDA to launch a Major Events Strategy, positioning the Northwest as a world-leading destination for hosting major events. Peter Mearns, Executive Director of Marketing and Communications at the NWDA, said: "The Commonwealth Games attracted an extra 300,000 visitors per year who generated an extra £12m in increased tourism spend per year which demonstrates the economic impact that hosting major events can have. Passion "The major events strategy was launched to exploit that potential and the figure of £150 million shows not only that this is a worthwhile strategy, but that the Northwest has been highly successful in attracting events, particularly sporting events. "In the Northwest there is the infrastructure, expertise and the passion to host successful major events. This reputation is attracting high-profile events which both enhance our image across the world, and make a significant contribution to the regional economy". The impact of major events has been growing year on year and over the year to March 2009, the NWDA supported 25 major events across the Northwest, which brought 1.75 million visitors to the region and generated £45 million for the local economy, says the agency. The agency lists a number of 'Key Successes':   •   The Turner Prize was held outside of London for the first time in 2007. It generated £10million and attracted over 71,000 visitors to the exhibition at Tate Liverpool.   •   In Cumbria the first Great North Swim was launched in 2008 with the support of the NWDA which generated around £750,000 in economic impact. The first event was so popular it was voted fifth Top Open Water Swim in the World, became a two-day event for 2009 and attracted over 6,000 competitors.   •   The Paralympic World Cup has been held in Manchester for five years running. In 2008 there were almost 12,000 visitors and an economic impact of £1million.   •  Ironman UK was recently held in Bolton and the Northwest for the first time. The NWDA suggested Bolton as an ideal location for the high-profile event and worked closely with Bolton Council and Ironman UK to stage the event. This international event attracted over 1,600 athletes from as far afield as Australia and Argentina and will be held in Bolton in 2010 and 2011, contributing around £9 million to the regional economy in total.   •  The NWDA was a key partner in the development of the Manchester     International Festival which generated an economic impact of £28.8million in 2007 and attracted 200,930 people. The NWDA helped in developing the positioning of the Festival and provided initial financial support which helped lever private sector funding of £3.6million - the most private sector funding ever raised for a UK festival.   Major events in the region also provide contracts for business, and the Manchester International Festival is a good example of this, where, in 2007, almost £7.8m was spent which included commissioning the programme, says the agency. These included 310 service suppliers and 76 local artists. The NWDA says it is developing an event supplier network to ensure that Northwest companies are fully exploiting the opportunities in the region and outside the region. Sustain Over the past five years, major events that the NWDA has been associated with have attracted about 4 million business and leisure visitors to the region and created a positive image which contributes to the economic development of England’s Northwest – including over 70 hours of national and international television coverage The agency claims that major events staged in the region, attracted with the support of the NWDA, sustain on average 450 jobs per year. In 2008 events supported by the NWDA, including the European MTV Music Awards and Turner Prize, complemented the Liverpool European Capital of Culture programme which generated £800million in economic benefit and 15 million cultural visits. Additional Across the region, the NWDA led on strategies and sponsored events to ensure the impact of Capital of Culture was felt everywhere. Cheshire’s Year of Gardens, Lancashire’s Year of Food, Cumbria’s Year of Adventure and Manchester’s Year of Sport enjoyed their own successes and attracted an additional 500,000 visitors between them. Going forward, the NWDA is looking to ensure that the region fully capitalises on the country’s "decade of sport" and, as well as taking the regional lead on the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, is also ensuring that the Northwest fully benefits from the 2013 Rugby League World Cup, the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup and England’s bid to stage the FIFA World Cup in 2018.