AusLeisure

Blockbuster events Coldplay, WWE and the FIFA Women's World Cup 2023 matches boosted the Western Australia's economy by $105 million last financial year.

Coldplay was the highest-attended event by out of state visitors on record, with roughly 40,000 tickets purchased from outside WA, generating an impressive $43.4 million in economic impact for WA. On average, visitors stayed for a week in WA and spent $274 each day.

The event was attended by more than 125,000 fans over two consecutive nights to see the global sensations perform for the first time in Australia in seven years and their only Australian performance in 2023.

WWE Elimination Chamber: Perth was the most-attended and highest-grossing Elimination Chamber event in WWE history while also setting the record for the most-watched Elimination Chamber event both in-person and on TV.

The wrestling bonanza generated $36.2 million for the local economy, with more than 52,000 WWE fans packing into Optus Stadium on 24th February. More than 18,200 of those fans travelled from outside WA and spent a daily average of $347.

The event was viewed in up to a billion households in 180 countries in 25 different languages, putting Western Australia on an unparalleled global stage.

Hosting five matches between July and August 2023 for the FIFA Women's World Cup also paid dividends for Western Australia, with $25.3 million generated as a direct result of the event.

More than 7,000 travelled from outside WA to attend the matches and incredibly, 80% of those were international visitors.

A further 45 million people across the globe tuned in to the People's Republic of China versus Denmark match at Perth Rectangular Stadium, providing valuable media exposure for Western Australia as a tourist destination.

The WA Government's major event budget for 2023-24 was $59 million, which supported 22 events – including Coldplay, WWE and the FIFA Women's World Cup.

The economic impact for the full list of 2023-24 events will be released soon when evaluations are finalised.

WA Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti noted "these are some incredible results and again highlight the huge benefit of investing in and hosting exclusive major and blockbuster events right across Western Australia.

"Importantly, the roughly 65,000 people who travelled from outside WA to specifically attend these events would have stayed overnight, spent money in our restaurants, bars and local businesses, visited tourist attractions and potentially even ventured into our regions.

"These types of events present enormous opportunities in showcasing Western Australia to the world while also providing a massive boost to our local economy, which is why they form such an important part of our overarching tourism strategy.

"Of course, along with our focus on direct aviation links from major cities around the world and ongoing investment into our tourist attractions and facilities, we're really emerging as a global destination of choice for travellers - our record-breaking near $18 billion in visitor spend in the year ending March 2024 further proves this."

Image: Coldplay on stage at Optus Stadium in November last year. Credit: David Etherton/VenuesWest.

Related Articles

8th July 2024 - Western Australia Government paid $8 million subsidy to Live Nation Entertainment for 2023 Coldplay concerts

1st December 2023 - Coldplay adds more Australasian concerts as they smash ticket sales records

16th October 2023 - Two Western Australian bands announced as supporting acts for Coldplay Perth concerts

10th May 2023 - Tourism coup for Western Australia with Coldplay to play one-off concert at Perth’s Optus Stadium

17th July 2023 - State Football Centre in Perth’s Queens Park unveiled ahead of FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023

16th July 2023 - State Library of Western Australia celebrates FIFA Women’s World Cup 2023 with interactive exhibition

22nd September 2023 - Optus Stadium secures WWE premium live wrestling event

3rd April 2023 - UFC acquires WWE in US$9.3 billion takeover deal

---

Support our industry news service
We hope that you value the news that we publish so while you're here can we ask for your support?

As an independent publisher, we need reader support for our industry news gathering so ask that - if you don't already do so - you back us by subscribing to the printed Australasian Leisure Management magazine and/or our online news.