For almost six weeks, the world watched the FIFA World Cup 2026 unfold, culminating in Spain’s victory last Sunday (19th July). But there was another winner: the US economy. Generating a record £11.2 billion in revenue, the tournament demonstrated the growing global value of sport as a catalyst for economic growth.
The business of sport has evolved. Success is no longer measured solely by ticket sales or broadcast audiences; it is shaped by the wider experiences events create. Supporters expect more than 90 minutes of action, cities compete to host tournaments for the economic and cultural benefits they deliver and sponsors are seeking new ways to build meaningful connections with audiences.
The figures reflect this shift. According to PwC’s latest Sports Survey, sports executives expect the global market to grow by 7.4% over the next three to five years, highlighting the continued commercial momentum behind the industry.
Yet, amid the focus on streaming and digital engagement, one part of the sporting experience is often overlooked: the physical environment. The journey begins long before fans reach their seats. Through Out of Home advertising, streets, transport routes and public spaces can become part of the event itself.
Transforming Cities into Sporting Stages
City dressing has become an essential part of delivering major sporting events, helping host cities showcase the scale of occasion, welcome visitors and create a strong sense of identity.
Few campaigns demonstrate this impact more clearly than the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. We installed more than 18,500 banners across the UK, helping transform the country’s visual landscape during one of the largest sporting events in history. The campaign went beyond promotion, creating a visible sense of celebration and helping unite communities around a shared national moment.
More than a decade later, the same principles continue to shape the delivery of global sporting events. When London hosted the UEFA Champions League Final in 2024, we worked alongside UEFA, the Greater London Authority, local councils and media agencies to deliver a coordinated city dressing campaign across the capital. Around 100 banners welcomed supporters into the city, creating a consistent visual identity across key routes and reinforcing London’s position as a world-leading sporting destination.
The wider impact of these events highlights why the environment surrounding a tournament matters. The Champions League Final generated an estimated £53 million for London’s economy, demonstrating the value major sporting events can bring to host cities. As competition to attract global tournaments increases, creating a memorable arrival experience has become an important part of delivering successful events.
This challenge is even greater for international competitions, which often span multiple cities and venues. Maintaining a consistent identity across different locations helps supporters feel part of one connected event, regardless of where their journey begins.
The Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 demonstrated the power of this approach. Working alongside local authorities, private contractors and venue partners, we installed more than 500 banners across eight host cities, from Sunderland to Brighton. The campaign created a unified tournament presence across the country, transforming individual locations into part of one shared sporting occasion.
![London - London 2012 Olympic Games [2012] (2)](https://www.baymedia.co.uk/wpcore/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/London-London-2012-Olympic-Games-2012-2.jpg)
The Growing Opportunity in Women’s Sport
The success of campaigns such as the Women’s Rugby World Cup reflects a much broader shift within the sporting landscape. Women’s sport has moved from being viewed as an emerging opportunity to becoming one of the fastest-growing areas of the global sports industry.
PwC’s latest Sports Survey found that 91% of sports executives expect double-digit revenue growth in women’s sport over the next three to five years, while 75% of investment firms plan to increase their investment in the sector. However, continued growth will depend on reaching new audiences and ensuring competitions are visible beyond traditional broadcast channels.
This is where OOH advertising can play a crucial role. By bringing tournaments into everyday environments, campaigns can introduce competitions to wider audiences and help build stronger connections between supporters and the sport itself.
This was a key objective of our partnership with the England and Wales Cricket Board for the ICC Women’s Cricket World Cup 2026. More than 300 banners were installed across England and Wales as part of the ECB’s wider Catch the Spirit campaign, creating a visible presence for the tournament in towns and cities nationwide. In an increasingly digital marketing landscape, the campaign demonstrated the continued value of physical presence in building awareness and bringing sporting moments into people’s everyday lives.
Bringing Stadium Districts to Life
The transformation of sport is not limited to major tournaments. It is also changing the role stadiums play within their surrounding communities. Increasingly, modern venues are becoming destinations in their own right, combining sport with hospitality, entertainment and leisure to create places that remain active throughout the year.
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium provides a strong example of this evolution. Designed to host Premier League football alongside NFL fixtures, rugby, boxing and major concerts, the venue has become far more than a football ground. It has developed into a year-round entertainment destination and a catalyst for regeneration, with Tottenham Hotspur’s own socio-economic impact study finding that the club generated £344 million in Gross Value Added and supported more than 3,700 jobs across Haringey, Enfield and Waltham Forest during the 2021/22 season alone.
We have supported Tottenham’s transformation through a number of campaigns, from the 2019 branding project welcoming supporters to their new home, to the 2024–2025 campaign that helped turn Tottenham High Road into an arrival corridor during key fixtures. Positioned along one of the main approaches to the stadium, the banners provided a final branded touchpoint in the ‘last mile’ of the supporter journey, with individual sites generating approximately 375,000 views each week.
Helping Sponsors Maximise Investment
As the commercial value of sport continues to rise, so too does the competition for audience attention. Sponsorship remains one of the most powerful ways for brands to align themselves with major sporting moments, but securing rights is only the beginning. The challenge is creating activations that feel meaningful and reach supporters throughout their experience.
While broadcast coverage remains a vital part of sponsorship strategies, OOH creates additional touchpoints that reinforce partnerships and connect brands with audiences beyond the stadium.
This approach has been demonstrated across a range of our campaigns, from Guinness’ Six Nations sponsorship and HSBC’s LTA Tennis wayfinding banners, to JD Sports’ football club partnerships. By bringing sponsorship into the streets and spaces surrounding sporting events, these campaigns created branded environments that strengthened audience connections and maximised the value of commercial partnerships.
![Twickenham - Guinness [March 16th 2019] (17)](https://www.baymedia.co.uk/wpcore/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Twickenham-Guinness-March-16th-2019-17.jpg)
![Birmingham - JD Sports x Aston Villa [April 2026] (3) (2)](https://www.baymedia.co.uk/wpcore/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Birmingham-JD-Sports-x-Aston-Villa-April-2026-3-2.jpg)
Strengthening Communities Through Sport
While global tournaments and commercial partnerships often dominate the conversation, some of sport’s most powerful moments are found in the way it brings communities together.
Sport has the ability to create shared experiences that extend far beyond the competition itself. Whether celebrating achievement, encouraging participation or supporting important causes, it creates moments that unite people and give places a stronger sense of identity.
Victory parades are one of the clearest examples. From Manchester City’s title celebrations in 2014 and Leicester City’s historic Premier League win in 2016 to Coventry City’s Championship celebrations earlier this year, our banner campaigns have helped transform familiar streets into places of celebration and community pride.
The same principle applies to participation events, where visibility plays a key role in encouraging involvement. Our campaigns supporting Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life and Shine Night Walks have demonstrated how OOH can bring important causes into the heart of local communities.
Looking Ahead
The future of sport will continue to be shaped by innovation. Technology will transform how fans consume events, women’s sport will continue its rapid growth, stadiums will evolve into broader entertainment destinations and competition between cities to host major tournaments will increase.
Yet, despite these changes, the fundamental role of sport remains the same: bringing people together through shared experiences. Supporters do not simply watch events; they travel, gather, celebrate and create memories around them.
As expectations continue to grow, organisers, governing bodies, brands and host cities will need to consider the entire sporting journey, from the build-up before an event to the moments that follow. This is where OOH continues to play an important role. By creating physical touchpoints within the environments where sport takes place, it helps build anticipation, extend partnerships beyond the stadium and strengthen the connection between events, places and audiences.
Get in touch with us to find out how our fully managed services can transform your location and leave a lasting impression long after the event has finished.