In a competitive marketplace, creating an experience around a live event has become ever more important for any rights holder or event organisers. The modern consumer demands all aspects of the event – pre-event marketing and messaging, the journey to and from the venue and everything inside the – to be seamless and enjoyable. Here are the five event experience that have made the shortlist in this year’s Leaders Sports Awards Live Experience category. The winner will be revealed on Wednesday 9th October, at London’s Natural History Museum.  


2018 US Open by United States Tennis Association

The US Open celebrated its 50th anniversary at the USTA Billie Jean King National Tennis Center in New York City, last year. The tournament saw a record attendance of 828,798 which included roughly 100,000 fans on the grounds for the revamped “Fan Week,” and generated record television ratings and engagement on social and digital platforms as the biggest names in the game battled for a record purse of US$53 million.

 

Drone Racing League at BMW Welt by Drone Racing League

In 2018, BMW became an official partner of the Drone Racing League and also hosted the series for a race at a custom-built circuit in the BMW Welt, Munich. Within days of the tickets going on sale, the front-row seats inside BMW Welt were sold out; over 3,000 people watched the event live.

 

Formula 1 Gran Premio De Mexico by Formula 1

The 2018 Mexican Grand Prix was a sell out with 334,946 spectators in attendance at the Autódromo Hermanos Rodríguez in Mexico City. With its festival feel, some 79% of fans rated the Grand Prix as ‘very enjoyable’ according to the Formula 1 fan survey, as a global audience of millions took in the action across 200 territories through 110 broadcasters.

Pool Deck at the Gabba Stadium by Cricket Australia and TLA Worldwide

The custom pool deck structure built at the Gabba Stadium by Cricket Australia and TLA Worldwide occupies three seating bays at Brisbane’s Commonwealth Bank Day and Night Test Match. Over 1,000 fans experience the deck during the Test match and it was sold out across all 7 Big Bash League matches this year. The innovation generated an estimated social reach of 287,000. The games saw the highest non-Ashes Gabba Test crowd since records began and an estimated AUS$8.8 million worth of media coverage value.

 

The Overwatch League Grand Finals by The Overwatch League

The 2018 Overwatch League Grand Finals was the first championship series of the Overwatch League at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. The Overwatch League Grand Finals drew an estimated live global average minute audience across both days of 861,205 viewers, with 70% of that group in the coveted 18-34 demographic and a total global reach of more than 10 million. The event was sold out on both days.