THE 2023 UCI World Championships in Glasgow brought a £205 million boost to the Scottish economy, a new report has revealed.
Held over 11 days in August, the cycling event combined 13 different disciplines for the first time, forming the biggest cycling event in history.
The UCI has now published a report, carried out by professional services firm EY, which tells of the “extremely positive impact” the event had for Scotland.
In addition to the significant £205m boost to the economy, the championships created 5285 jobs in a year and brought an investment of £6m across Scotland’s 32 local authorities.
Commenting on the report, UCI president David Lappartient hailed the impact of the event.
“The 2023 UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow and across Scotland was an unprecedented success at every level,” he said.
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“As the EY report shows, this success extends beyond sport, to the economy, tourism and sustainable development.
“An event like the one we experienced in August 2023 leads to long-term benefits for the host communities and their residents.”
The report suggested that the championships brought nearly a million spectators to Scotland, 90,000 of which came from outside the UK.
In terms of TV, more than 200 million hours of racing was watched in TV by fans around the world.
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The UCI is planning to host a similar combined World Championships every four years with the next coming in 2027.
It will take place in France’s alpine Haute-Savoie department.
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