Spectator sport participation

IBISWorld forecasts spectator sport participation to rise by 1.3% in 2024-25, to 8.76 million people. This participation rate equates to 39% of the total population aged 15 and over. Spectator sport participation fell significantly over the two years through 2020-21 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2024-25, spectator sport participation is set to return to normal levels following record attendance numbers in the AFL, NRL and the Australian Open in 2024. Turbulent economic conditions and rising cost of living pressures have restricted households' spending on recreational outings like sporting events, which has limited the growth in spectator sport participation.

Growth in spectator sport participation is often stronger in years when major international sporting events were hosted in Australia. For example, in 2017-18, the Gold Coast hosted the Commonwealth Games, which attracted over 523,000 spectators. Additionally, a strong turnout in the Ashes series and the Rugby League World Cup all contributed to a rise in crowd figures in the same year. In addition, the 2020 Australian Open reported over 812,000 attendees, which broke the previous record in the prior year. This highlights the upward trend in spectator sport participation prior to the pandemic. Australia jointly hosted the FIFA Women's World Cup in mid-2023. This also led to the speedy recovery of spectator participation to pre-pandemic levels.

The end of pandemic restrictions and pent-up demand for sports viewership has caused the spectator sport participation rate to increase as a share of the total population. Spectator sport participation peaked at 47.2% of the population in 1998-99 but has been falling since, due to people choosing to watch sports on television and online platforms. However, overall participation is increasing because of steady population growth, with the most popular spectator sports being tennis and Australian Rules football. Attendance rates also tend to exhibit a positive correlation with household income. The highest income quintile typically records the highest spending on spectator admission fees to sport, while the lowest income quintile records the lowest spending. Overall, IBISWorld forecasts spectator participation at sporting events to rise at a compound annual rate of 14.0% over the five years through 2024-25. This significant growth is because the base year was severely affected by the pandemic.