Football, rugby and boxing: The most attended sports events of 2024
It’s no secret that the Brits love going to watch live sport. Whether it’s domestic action, international sport or a special annual event; we love it!
So which event saw the most people through the turnstiles on a single day for each month of the year? We take a look.
January
73,489, Old Trafford, Premier League
The only feature for the Premier League came in the opening month of 2024, when Richarlison and Rodrigo Bentancur cancelled out goals from Rasmus Højlund and Marcus Rashford in a game that saw Tottenham Hotspur draw 2-2 at Manchester United’s Old Trafford.
Old Trafford has the highest stadium capacity of any domestic sports club in the UK with only Wembley Stadium, Cardiff’s Principality Stadium and rugby’s Allianz Stadium ahead on the complete list.
February
88,868, Wembley Stadium, Carabao Cup
Wembley Stadium is by far the most featured stadium on this list and February’s Carabao Cup final was the most attended single day of sport in the second month of the year.
Chelsea were beaten 1-0 by Liverpool thanks to a 188th minute Virgil van Dijk winner.
March
83,664, Wembley Stadium, international football
We stay at Wembley Stadium for March with England’s Three Lions featured for the first and only time.
England suffered their first defeat in eleven games when Endrick netted the winner in a 1-0 victory for the South American side.
April
83,672, Wembley Stadium, FA Cup
The home of English football shines once more in April as it hosted over 83,000 for the FA Cup semi-final.
Coventry City’s Haji Wright netted a 95th minute equaliser as their semi-final against Manchester United went to extra time at 3-3. united won 4-2 on penalties.
May
85,862, Wembley Stadium, Championship football
One game that got more people through Wembley’s turnstiles than the FA Cup final was the EFL Championship play-off final.
Over 85,000 watched as a first-half Adam Armstrong goal handed Southampton a 1-0 win over Leeds United.
June
86,212, Wembley Stadium, Champions League
Continental football returned to Brent for the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund.
Dani Carvajal and Vinícius Jr scored for the Spaniards.
July
164,000, Silverstone, Formula 1
Finally no football! Sport heads north to Silverstone for the Sunday of the British Grand Prix, where 164,000 watched Lewis Hamilton win at his home race.
Around 500,000 fans attended across the entire four-day weekend.
August
78,146, Wembley Stadium, Community Shield
Back to the capital and Wembley where Manchester City and Manchester United met again, this time in the Community Shield.
Goals from Bernardo Silva and Garnacho saw a full-time score of 1-1 but Pep Guardiola’s City won 7-6 on penalties.
September
96,000, Wembley Stadium, Boxing
Wembley wins, again, for September but not for football. Riyadh Season hit London as 96,000 watched Anthony Joshua lose to Daniel Dubois in a fifth round knockout.
It may not have been the Fury v Joshua fight everybody wanted but it proves boxing is alive and kicking in the UK.
October
86,651, Wembley Stadium, NFL
NFL returned to London for the International Series this year and the match between the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots hosted the most attended event of October.
There were strong crowds for the other two American football matches at Wembley and Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
November
81,910, Allianz Stadium, Autumn Nations Series
Rugby wins the final two months of the year with the first going to England’s opening Autumn Nations Series match against New Zealand.
Despite leading at the 60 minute mark the All Blacks came out 24-22 victors at the newly named Allianz Stadium.
December
82,000, Allianz Stadium, Premiership Rugby
The south west stadium holds the crown for December, with Premiership Rugby getting a domestic game on the board.
A sell-out was announced for Big Game 16 between Harlequins and Leicester Tigers in what has become an annual festive fixture for Londoners.
So there you have it, proof live sport is alive and kicking across the UK. Stadiums are packing in thousands across the nation as fans demand more and more love action.