Just a day after one of the biggest and most spectacular sporting Championships came to Sheffield, the city today unveiled a multi-million pounds sports, culture and leisure events programme for the rest of the year.
The ISU European Figure Skating Championships at the Motorpoint Arena and iceSheffield, which attracted nearly 200 stars of the skating world from 40 countries, kick-started a unique programme for Sheffield which will drive tourism, boost the local economy and place the city as a key UK location in the year of the Olympics.
The city’s prize assets of world class sporting facilities, operated by Sheffield International Venues (SIV), plus the work of the Sheffield City Council’s Major Events Unit have been instrumental in pulling together a diverse programme which offers:
- An economic value to the region of at least £10m
- Provides significant international and national television exposure
- Grassroots activities to high-profile international events
- A platform for Olympic legacy opportunities such as the planned
- development of the National Centre for Sports and Exercise Medicine.
Driven on by a partnership involving the City Council, SIV, Welcome to Yorkshire, UK Sport and Hospitality Sheffield, some of the highlights from the sporting programme include:
- Next month’s UK Indoor Athletics Trials and Championships (EIS Sheffield)
- The ETTA National Table Tennis Championships (March, Ponds Forge ISC)
- The Euro Cup Wheelchair Basketball Championships (March, Ponds Forge ISC)
- The BUCS (British Universities) Championships (March, Various venues)
- The Paralympic Trials for Disability Swimming ((April, Ponds Forge)
- The Betfred.com World Snooker Championships (April, Crucible theatre)
- Sheffield Half Marathon (May)
- British Gas National Diving Championships – Olympic Trials (June, Ponds Forge)
- British Gas ASA National 50m swimming Championships – Olympic Trials (June, Ponds Forge)
- Olympic Torch Relay (June, various venues)
- The ASA National Masters Swimming Championships (October, Ponds Forge ISC)
- The British Ice Figure and Dance Skating Championships (November, iceSheffield)
In addition, the city will play a key role in the first-ever staging of the South Yorkshire School Games. It is expected details of three more significant sporting events will be announced in the coming weeks.
Sheffield will host a number of international training camp as national teams prepare for the Olympics and Paralympics. Delegations from the USA, Brazil, Serbia and Canada are expected. A three-day Fan Fest, including a Tramlines style event, will be held at the Don Valley Stadium and the Don Valley Bowl. It will feature a big screen showing the gold medal progress of Jess Ennis in the Heptathlon – thousands are expected to attend and cheer on Sheffield’s finest.
Away from sporting events the programme has a number of significant of cultural and leisure events. They include:
- The Sheffield Adventure Film Festival (March, Showroom Cinema)
- The Global Manufacturing Festival (March)
- Sensoria (April, Various venues)
- Highland Fling Country Fair (May, Graves Park)
- DocFest (June, Various venues)
- Children’s Festival (June/July, various venues)
- Insternational Student Drama Festival, (June, Crucible Theatre)
- Cliffhanger (July)
- Tramlines (July, City Centre)
- Art in the Gardens (September, Botanical Gardens)
- The award-winning Sheffield Food Festival (September)
- The MADE Festival (September
- Fright Night (October)
Councillor Helen Mirfin-Boukouris, Sheffield City Council’s Cabinet Member for Business, Jobs and Growth, said: “The Major Events Calendar is the jewel in Sheffield’s cultural crown, and this year is no exception with an outstanding array of events planned.
“At the Council we work very hard to lead work across the city bringing elite national and international sporting events to Sheffield, and we know major events brought £8 million collectively into the city's economy last year, exceeding all expectations. Seeing these elite teams and athletes coming to our city to compete also has a positive impact on people in Sheffield in terms of inspiring people to get more active.
“Sheffield has been named the most physically active large city in England by Sport England, with a 6% increase in adults regularly participating in sport and activity over the last two years.
“There are also fantastic opportunities to get involved with volunteering at elite sporting events in the city. Over 400 people have given their time over the last year.”
Brendan Moffett, Director of Marketing Sheffield, said: “This is an exceptional programme featuring a depth and breadth of events as result of partnership approach involving a number of organisations. It gives a significant economic and profiling boost for Sheffield.
“The just-held European Figure Skating Championships has set the standard. The event attracted two sell-out nights, five thousand schoolchildren during the opening days and the value of the ticket sales far exceeded expectations. In addition, TV coverage went out to 13 European counties and the BBC coverage included more than 14hours of live coverage.”
SIV Chief Executive Steve Brailey said: “The programme is exciting and provides a legacy for people and the city of Sheffield to be inspired to participate in sport, improving their health.”
Full details of the programme can be found at https://www.sheffield.gov.uk/out--about/lleisure-services---activity-sheffield/major-sports-events.html
