BEST SPORTS EVENT OF THE YEAR – UK
2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship – Professional Darts Corporation
A festive feast of darts, the 2024/25 Paddy Power World Darts Championship was staged from December 15-January 3 – with 28 sessions of action taking place at London’s Alexandra Palace.
With the 2023/24 tournament having created global headlines with 16-year-old Luke Littler’s run to the final capturing the imagination, the latest staging enjoyed huge interest before, during and after a record-breaking event.
From record demand for tickets to a 24% increase in average audience on Sky Sports, the 2024/25 event was a huge success both on and off the oche – seeing the Net Promoter Score increase to +81.
Paddy Power’s charity partnership with Prostate Cancer UK also saw a huge £1,027,000 donated through The BIGGER 180 campaign – which saw the introduction of a £180,000 bonus for every nine-darter hit on the Alexandra Palace stage.
The pre-event hype and expanded Fan Village experience was exceeded by the on-stage action, as Littler made his own piece of history to become the sport’s youngest World Champion – a fitting end to a memorable event.
Big Game 16 – Harlequins Rugby Club
Held on 28th December 2024 at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham, Big Game 16 was Harlequins’ biggest and most impactful matchday to date. Designed to unite fans during the festive period, the event drew a record-breaking crowd of 80,000 – the highest attendance in both domestic and European rugby last season.
Featuring both Men’s and Women’s fixtures, Big Game 16 broke the world record for attendance at a women’s club rugby match (18,055) and significantly boosted awareness ahead of the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. The event was underpinned by strong community engagement, with 8,000 tickets distributed to grassroots clubs and 767 activations.
Entertainment included a headline performance by Rudimental, an interactive light show, and a dedicated West Fan Village, all contributing to a 9/10 atmosphere rating. Commercial highlights included a bespoke matchday kit in partnership with DHL, and extensive partner activations.
Digital campaigns generated over 7.2 million impressions, and supporter surveys returned an NPS of +74 and an 8.7/10 matchday rating. Big Game 16 didn’t just set attendance records – it reaffirmed itself as the premium spectator experience in rugby and has since inspired similar events across the league.
• Net Promoter Score (NPS) – (industry standard metric)
BLAST Premier Spring Final Presented by Revolut
The BLAST Premier Spring Final 2024 Presented by Revolut transformed London’s OVO Arena Wembley into the epicentre of next-generation live sport. Over three electric days, 18,000 fans witnessed elite-level Counter-Strike 2 action in a stadium experience that rivalled football, boxing and live music events. The spectacle fused the drama of competition with cinematic production, from pyrotechnics and theatrical lighting to thunderous crowd reactions—all broadcast globally to over 5.6 million unique viewers across 150+ territories.
With UK roots, this event marked a homecoming for BLAST, reigniting domestic fan fervour while cementing London as a pillar of the global esports calendar.
More than a tournament, the Spring Final was a proof of concept: that esports belongs on the main stage of global sport and entertainment. Generating £13 million in economic impact and 2.3 billion branded impressions, it combined community, commerce, and culture into a high-impact entertainment moment.
BLAST’s vision to redefine what competitive entertainment looks like in the 21st century was brought to life—and will return to Wembley in September following overwhelming success.
HSBC Championships at The Queen’s Club – LTA
The HSBC Championships saw a fortnight of blockbuster tennis at The Queen’s Club, with women’s tennis returning to London alongside the men’s event for the first time in over 50 years. There were more than 133,000 spectators through the door across the two weeks. The combined TV audience saw BBC viewing figures surge compared to the equivalent event last year. A peak audience of 1,715,000 tuned in for the final – a rise of 64% on the 2024 peak. The LTA increased commercial revenues by over 40% in 2025 and secured nine new partners, including a new title partner, HSBC. New operational initiatives included the introduction of Hawkeye/electronic line calling, LED boards and a new Courtside App. Iconic activations such as the tennis takeover of Trafalgar Square and a draw ceremony on the London Eye raised visibility alongside a creative marketing campaign and daily story telling which drove extensive media coverage and digital engagement.
London Landmarks Half Marathon 2025 – LLHM/Tommy’s
The eighth edition of the London Landmarks Half Marathon (LLHM), organised by pregnancy and baby charity Tommy’s, took place on 6 April 2025, welcoming over 20,000 runners—the largest event to date. An incredible £16million was raised for charity, bringing the total since the inaugural event to £70million.
Key fundraising highlights include £4.9million raised for Tommy’s, £1.8million collectively raised for the six lead charity partners including Cancer Research UK, Prostate Cancer UK and Shelter. And £9.3million for 701 other charities. As a 100% not-for-profit event, LLHM has grown significantly, supporting 708 charities in 2025 compared to 102 in 2018.
The event is unlike any other half marathon. As well as an iconic, central London course, runners experienced ‘The Grand. The Quirky. The Hidden’ of the capital. In total, 550 activations lined the 2025 route, giving runners an experience like no other.
Alongside the significant fundraising impact, 2025 was a landmark year for the LLHM as we welcomed 20,000 runners to the race – double the number from the inaugural 2018 event. In addition, for the first time, over 2000 Tommy’s runners started together in the same wave to create a spectacular sea of pink and an unforgettable moment of unity.
The Randox Grand National Festival 2025 – The Jockey Club
As a team at Aintree Racecourse and part of the wider Jockey Club Group, we feel passionate about two things – leveraging the rich history of the Grand National, and innovating our products and experiences to future-proof the world’s most famous race. The landscape post-Covid was a challenging one but we’ve built back in a strong way, capped by a memorable 2025 Randox Grand National Festival; record breaking in many ways, not least commercially but also in terms of a customer experience that was heralded by racegoers across the three days. It saw us trial new raceday experiences, embrace new partners and continue to tell the crucial story of horse welfare and the care that goes into mitigating risk for our equine superstars. Broadcast in over 170 different territories, the Randox Grand National Festival is an event that is locally loved and globally adored.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 – Rugby World Cup (England 2025)
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 (RWC 2025) will be the 10th edition of the tournament and will take place in England across five weeks from 22 August to 27 September. RWC 2025 will be an era-defining tournament, providing the ultimate stage for the best players, teams and coaches from across the globe. For the first time ever, the expanded showcase event will be hosted across eight venues and cities around the country with 16 teams competing to be crowned world champions. The countrywide format makes it the most accessible Women’s Rugby World Cup, offering an unparalleled opportunity for fans to engage with and support the stars of the women’s game.
The record-breaking tournament has already surpassed all expectations with 300,000 tickets already sold (as of July 2025), more than double the total attendance from RWC 2021 in New Zealand, and is now firmly on course to become the biggest Women’s Rugby World Cup in history, not just in scale, but in impact.
RWC 2025 will represent a generational moment for global rugby that will set new standards, welcome new fans to the sport and inspire a new generation of players, providing an exciting catalyst to nationwide and global rugby growth.
