A truly Magic Weekend in Newcastle
Record crowd numbers and a huge economic boost for the city.
This weekend, 21 and 22 May, Newcastle played host to one of the most important and exciting events in the Rugby League calendar, the 10th Magic Weekend. The weekend-long, carnival style event has made its home in the city for the second consecutive year with what are expected to be record footfall figures and increased visitor numbers for the event which has previously been staged in cities including Manchester, Edinburgh and Cardiff.
Figures just released by the RFL confirm that attendance across the weekend stood at 68,276, breaking all previous Magic Weekend records.
Detailed analysis of the economic impact of the event will be done in due course, but based on the record breaking attendance figures across the weekend, initial estimates are that visitor spend for Magic Weekend was worth in excess of ÂŁ4.23m to Newcastle.
Stephen Patterson, Director of Communications at NE1 Ltd and joint city sponsor of Magic Weekend Newcastle commented:
“We are delighted with the record attendance figures at this year’s Magic Weekend and the estimates of the economic boost the games have given to the city.”
Building on the huge success of last year which saw footfall up 37% across the city, licensed trade up over 40% and 99% occupancy for the city’s hotels, we expect to have surpassed these figures this weekend.
Magic fans are a credit to their sport, creating a friendly festival atmosphere in the city across the weekend, that is why we worked so hard with the RFL, Newcastle City Council and Football Club to bring Magic Weekend back to Newcastle for the second year running. It is such a fantastic event and Newcastle an ideal stage for this and other big events. Having St James’ Park in the heart of the city centre alongside award winning retail, restaurant and leisure venues gives Newcastle the edge providing a fantastic proposition for large-scale events and a fan experience second to none.
Newcastle businesses and residents do the city proud welcoming the RFL, the teams and their supporters, we love hosting the event here and hope we can make Newcastle the permanent home of Magic Weekend.”
Leader of Newcastle City Council, Cllr Nick Forbes, said:
“The residents and businesses of Newcastle can yet again be proud of hosting a fabulous sporting occasion that was experienced by record breaking crowds.
The RFL Super League chose our City for the second year running to host Magic Weekend, and we have definitely not disappointed. Everyone raised their game from the performers putting on the entertainment through to the stall-holders, which has been reflected in the heartfelt feedback we’ve already had from fans about their stay in Newcastle. This has a great deal to do with all of the partnership work that has gone on behind the scenes, making this a wonderful event for everyone to enjoy.
Sporting fans came from all over Europe to watch world-class rugby in the North East of England, and their generosity, goodwill and behaviour has been exemplary, and we would welcome Magic Weekend back to Newcastle, anytime, with open arms.”
Over the course of Magic Weekend, St James’ Park hosted 6 games featuring all 12 top teams from the RFL Super League.
The action on the pitch at St James’ Park was matched by impressive fan zone action that entertained the visiting fans and Newcastle residents alike and created a carnival style atmosphere across the city.
The games were a huge attraction for tens of thousands of visitors from outside the region with Rugby League fans travelling from across the UK to attend the games.
Hotels across Newcastle experienced a huge spike in occupancy and revenues over the weekend with the business benefits of Magic Weekend extending far beyond the city centre with the overspill of fans staying in hotels across the region and as far afield as Teesside