Rugby League World Cup 2022 inspired by Birmingham 2022 ticket sales

Birmingham 2022 and the women’s continental football tournament were major hits in host nation England.

The Games sold an excess of 1.5 million tickets while the European Championship recorded a total attendance of 487,683 – more than doubling the number registered in The Netherlands four years previously.

An all-time attendance record for a European Championship final was also set, with more than 87,000 flooding into Wembley to see England beat Germany.

Revenue director Mick Hogan believes that momentum can be carried over from those competitions, with sights firmly set on selling out the opening match between England and Samoa on October 15.

The 2021 Rugby League World Cup is scheduled to take place from October 15 to November 19; Photo/Bnm

“I think both of those events have really whet the appetite for people to come to big events”, Hogan said in a virtual press conference.

“I think the crucial bit is, we spoke to the organisers at both of those at length and both had significant sales after the opening day.

“It is vital we get off to a really good start because when the public sees a sold out St James’ Park live on the BBC [British Broadcasting Corporation], they’ll want to get involved.

“The numbers that bought tickets for the Commonwealth Games after the Opening Ceremony was quite staggering and it would have been even higher had they not sold out at lot of venues.

“The same with the Women’s Euros.

“They put a world record crowd in at Old Trafford and within hours saw tens of thousands of tickets bought for the remaining games.

“We are not going to be sold out of all 61 games by the 15th of October but what we need to do is put on a really compelling opening day.”

A record 87,192 fans watched the UEFA Women’s EUROs final; Photo/Usher Komugisha

In the backdrop of the Rugby League World Cup is the ongoing cost of living crisis that has swept across the United Kingdom and nations across the world.

The UK’s Office for National Statistics announced last week that inflation rose by 10.1 per cent last month in the country, which is the highest in 40 years.

Despite the crisis, Rugby League World Cup 2021 chief executive Jon Dutton said that ticket sales are meeting their expectations.

The 2021 Rugby League World Cup is scheduled to take place from October 15 to November 19 this year, having been postponed due to COVID-19, with the men’s, women’s and wheelchair events all set to feature.