The UEFA Women's Champions League 2024 final is estimated to generate an economic impact of 23 million euros in the Basque Country.

• The return on investment (ROI) of the international sporting event has yielded a 17-fold increase in the budget applied by the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Bilbao City Council.

• The impact study conducted by Ikertalde revealed that the Basque public perceive the UWCL Final as a significant opportunity for local economic growth and the advancement of a more equal society.

• The match held at San Mamés set a record for attendance at a final of this category, with 50,827 people attending the Bilbao stadium and a total of 72,518 people mobilised.

The UEFA Women's Champions League (UWCL) 2024 Final, held in San Mamés on 25 May, has resulted in €23 million for the Basque economy. This represents a return on investment (ROI) that is 17 times greater than the budget applied by the three Basque institutions – the Basque Government, the Provincial Council of Bizkaia and Bilbao City Council – to promote the match. Furthermore, it has added €13.18 million to the Basque Country's GDP and a direct economic return of €4.37 million for the administration.

The total income is distributed as follows: over €2.9 million are generated by contracting the services of up to 87 Basque companies; another €2.7 million are attributed to the stay and expenses incurred in the Basque Country by non-residents for organisational reasons; and €8.8 million are attributed to the expenses incurred by attendees at the match (overnight stays, hotels, shops, transport, tourist activities, etc.). These figures are added to the more than €1.1 million in expenses incurred by those who joined in the ambience. The remaining €7.4 million are attributable to intermediate production activities stimulated by these economic stimuli along the inter-sectoral value chain, resulting in indirect impacts on the Basque economy.

The UWCL 2024 Final Impact Report, carried out by Ikertalde for the organising committee, corroborates this. The report measures the event’s scope from an economic, social, environmental and media standpoint. In addition to data provided by the event organisers and insights gained from interviews with key collaborators and promoters, a total of 1,301 surveys were conducted among attendees, spectators and Basque residents in general.

In addition to setting a new attendance record for a Women's Champions League Final with 50,827 spectators at San Mamés, the report calculates that 21,691 people actively took part in the Sports Village’s activities, despite not having tickets to attend the match. The European sporting event successfully mobilised a total of 72,518 people.

The event saw the participation of 58% women and 60% of those who attended the finale at San Mamés. In terms of where people were coming from, over one-third of the personnel mobilised came from the Basque Country (25,000 people), while 28% of the personnel were from Catalonia, given that FC Barcelona was one of the two finalist teams. This indicates that 65.4% of the participants were not from the Basque Country and had travelled to Bilbao-Bizkaia-Euskadi.

The event saw a high level of participation from young people, with 72% of attendees aged under 45. Attendees arrived in large groups, often with family or friends, and the atmosphere was characterised by a sense of festivity, familiarity, safety, collaboration and enjoyment.

A total of 33,719 overnight stays were recorded in the Basque Country, with 84% of these in Bizkaia. Most of these stays were in the hotel and tourist flat network in Bilbao, with an average length of stay of 2 nights. It is worth noting that nearly 80% of overnight visitors took the opportunity to explore the cultural and leisure tourism offerings in Bilbao-Bizkaia-Euskadi. It is also important to highlight that 71% of tourists are likely to recommend Bilbao to others, and that 76% of those who visited showed a willingness to return, indicating a positive impact on future tourism.

A QUALITY EXPERIENCE

The UWCL 2024 Final was a highly positive experience for stadium attendees, with an average satisfaction rating of 8.7 out of 10. Similarly, those who arrived without a ticket rated the experience 8.4 out of 10.

The San Mamés stadium itself is rated highly for its comfort, functionality and atmosphere (9.2/10), while the ticket price (9/10) and the city's hospitality offer (8.8/10) also receive high marks. The city's safety record is rated 8.9/10. The enthusiasm and helpfulness of the locals was rated 8.7/10, as was the quality of Bilbao's tourist offer. The event’s organisation, including signage, information and facilities, as well as the Fan Meeting Points, received ratings of 8.6/10.

The high cost of accommodation and prices for food and drinks emerged as a key area for improvement among the insights gathered from the consulted parties.

SOCIAL IMPACT AND OPPORTUNITIES

Most Basque residents surveyed (75.8%) believe that the holding of the UEFA Women's Champions League 2024 Final has contributed to further progress in achieving equal gender opportunities in sport. They also consider it to have made a valuable contribution to the work for gender equality. Furthermore, eight out of ten people surveyed agree that it will make football and sport more attractive to girls in the Basque Country. They also believe that it will improve Bilbao-Bizkaia-Euskadi's capacity to organise major events in the future, attracting and consolidating a new contingent of football fans, with new family and cooperative values.

The Basque public who participated in the consultation expressed satisfaction with the legacy of the UEFA Women's Champions League 2024 Final. In general, 81% of respondents felt that the event was an opportunity for local economic growth and Basque business development.

MEDIA IMPACT

The UWCL 2024 Final has generated 4,512 press, radio, TV and social media impressions between January and June, with an accumulated economic value of €39.1 million, representing the advertising value equivalent to these impressions. Most mentions related to the Final (72%) occurred on digital media and social networks. It is worth noting that 43% of the total mentions have originated in international media outlets.

Considering the strategy to attract big events, following the success of the Grand Départ Pays Basque in July 2023 and the positive figures of the UEFA Women's Champions League Final 2024, the next major event will be the UEFA Europa League Final on 21 May 2025, which will be hosted for the first time in the Basque Country at San Mamés.