Whether you’re lucky enough to watch from the stands or you’re in the comfort of your own home watching television, every single week there are some incredible sporting events taking place across the globe. But when it comes to viewing figures, it’s the national and global events that hit the headlines and get the biggest viewing figures. Here are some of the biggest sporting events in the world.
The Olympics – both summer and winter
Some prefer the variety of the Summer Olympics, others the death-defying ski jumping and impressive ice skating of the Winter Games. Whatever your preference, it’s unsurprising that so many tune in for underdog stories, national pride and more. The Summer Olympics, in their current form, have been around since 1896, while the Winter Olympics have been around since 1924, and they’re firmly cemented in our yearly calendar.
FIFA World Cup
Taking place every four years, the FIFA World Cup is now in its 22nd edition. Brazil is the country that has been crowned victorious most often with five titles. The FIFA World Cup is also a popular sporting event for fans wanting to wager on matches too, with international sports betting brands such as LeoVegas seeing fans from around the world backing their favourite teams. In the 2018 World Cup final, one lucky individual placed a €20 bet on predicting that France would be 2-1 up against Croatia at halftime and that they would end up winning 4-2. With odds of 500/1, he netted himself an incredible €10,000.
Tour de France
The Tour de France, a 2,200-mile cycling race that takes 23 days, is the most prestigious cycling event in the world, and one that dates right back to 1903. It’s estimated to be watched by 3.5 billion viewers across the globe each year, and with crashes, underdog stories and incredible scenery, it’s easy to see why!
Cricket World Cup
The One Day International championship takes place every four years, featuring ten teams and around six weeks of play. Australia is the most successful team to date, with five wins, and they also hold the record for the highest ever scoring match in the tournament, beating Afghanistan with a score of 417/6 in the 2015 competition.
Super Bowl
Despite Super Bowl viewing figures dropping to 96.4 million in 2021, it’s a lucrative occasion. In 2020, a 30-second advertising spot during the Super Bowl broadcast cost an incredible USD$5.6 million. The first championship title went to the Green Bay Packers in 1967, and it’s been hosted by 16 different cities since it began, including 11 times in Miami; more than any other US city.
The Masters
If you’re a golf enthusiast who knows the latest golf bags, trends, and news, then one of the four major championships in professional men’s golf, the Masters tournament is the first one to take place each year. Every single year, this US tournament is held in Augusta, Georgia, and in a beautiful tradition, the morning of the first round of play is marked by an honorary tee shot from a former golfing legend.
The Championships, Wimbledon
With its title of the oldest tennis championship in the world, Wimbledon begins in early July and takes place over a two-week period. It’s seen as a quintessentially British event, with competitors adhering to a strict all-white dress code, strawberries and cream consumed by the bucketload by spectators, and many a true underdog story.
