A report by the Swedish city of Malmö has revealed that the 2022 LEC summer finals generated over SEK 50m (~£4.03m) for the city, largely in revenue from tourism.
Produced by consultancy firm Geelmuyden Kiese on behalf of the city, the report revealed that 19,600 ticket holders watched inside the arena across September 10th – 11th, with 85% of spectators attending both days.
The number of seats had to be increased inside Malmö Arena after the event sold out, as the report indicated that 77% of visitors to the city came only for the LEC finals.
The report also highlighted that over 98% of visitors were under 35. This is a notable statistic considering the average viewing age of every large American sport is at least over 40, according to the Sports Business Journal in 2017. Another statistic that ‘stood out’, according to the Swedish city, was the proportion of spectators studying or working in technological fields.
Visitors to the city for the finals hailed from over 30 different countries, with the largest contingents coming from neighbouring Denmark and Germany. With that said, over 10% of attendees were from the UK.
The latter statistic will likely be good news for Riot Games executives, who intend to host the Mid Season Invitational — the League of Legends’ second-largest event — in London next year according to a report by Esports News UK. The event would mark the first time that MSI has come to the UK, although parts of the World Championships came to the UK in 2015.
The news comes as Riot Games announced sweeping changes to its broadcasting schedule last week, uprooting the LCS from its previous Saturday and Sunday slot, and changing its broadcast days to Thursday and Friday. The new broadcast plan also includes changes to League of Legends’ European league, the LEC, as well as every region’s VALORANT Champions Tour.
