According to a research by the Swedish city of Malmö, the 2022 LEC Summer Finals brought in about SEK 50 million (about £4.03 million) for the city, mostly in the form of tourism-related income.
The city commissioned a report from consulting firm Geelmuyden Kiese that showed 19,600 ticket holders watched inside the arena from September 10 to September 11, with 85% of people attending both days. Malmö Arena even had to add more seats after the show sold out since, according to the report, 77% of the city’s tourists arrived just for the LEC finals.
Additionally, the survey noted that more than 98% of visitors of the finals were under 35. This is a noteworthy fact given that the Sports Business Journal reported in 2017 that the average viewing age of every major American sport is at least 40 years old. The proportion of spectators enrolled in or employed in technological fields was another figure that “stood out,” in the words of the Swedish city.
Over 30 different nations sent representatives to the city for the finals, with Denmark and Germany’s neighbors sending the highest numbers. Having said that, more than 10% of the attendees were from the UK. This last statistic will probably be encouraging for Riot Games executives because they want to hold the Mid Season Invitational, the second-largest League of Legends tournament, in London the following year, according to a report by Esports News UK. Despite the World Championships’ partial visit to the UK in 2015, this would be the first MSI tournament there. Local fans felt it was undervalued within the EMEA system as well. With the interest shown in this event, Riot Games will review its investments in the UK. Therefore, MSI 2023 will play an important role in the development of esports and esports players in the UK.
