The sports event organization market - Italy

1.1 Definition and presentation

A sporting event is a one-time technical or sporting effort related to a single discipline that is held to promote the activities of that discipline; sporting events are one of the most complex categories of events to organize, especially when they are large competitions or tournaments. The most important pillars of a sports event are: the administrative area, logistics, Marketing and PR, and the use of volunteers. Sports events can be divided according to the organization behind them, private or public, and also according to size, mega-events, landmark events, major events, and minor events. The interesting aspect of sports events is the economic externality created and the diversification of actors involved.

In 2021, the value of the global sports events market reached $16.51 billion. The market is expected to grow at an annual rate of 6.32 percent (CAGR 2017-2027), leading to a projected volume of $32.26 billion by 2027.

More than 20 million people in Italy participate in sports activities, and the sports sector is worth a significant share of Italy's GDP. The most popular sports in Italy are soccer, tennis, swimming and rugby, not forgetting Motogp and Formula 1. According to Istat, Italian households spend an average of 109.9 euros per year on recreational and sports services and events. Various players, public associations and private companies are involved in the sector, and after the crisis related to the restrictions for Covid-19, the market is set to explode with a full return of all sports events and an increase in their development.

E-sports, often known as e-sports, is a competitive video game activity that is organized as a tournament involving direct confrontations between people or teams. E-sports events are expected to become increasingly popular in the future. The DreamHack and Intel Extreme Masters, which fill entire soccer stadiums, are the best-known traveling competitions that do not yet include Italy. Thus, there is still a huge market opportunity in Italy with minimal competition.