The boss of the Illawarra’s peak tourism body has applauded efforts by state and local governments in bringing an international cycling event to the region in 2022.
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The UCI Road World Championships is another feather in NSW government’s cap, after winning the rights to the men’s and women’s Twenty20 world cups in 2020.
Destination Wollongong general manager Mark Sleigh said there was no doubt the stat was becoming a sporting capital.
“One of the exciting thing is they’re bringing these world champ events to regional NSW as well,” Mr Sleigh said.
“It’s not just about Sydney, it’s about getting them out and dispersing them into the regions and giving them not only the economic benefit, but giving them the opportunity to promote their region to the world.”
It’s our Olympics; this is the biggest thing we’ll ever do in Wollongong.
- Mark Sleigh
It’s estimated around 300,000 spectators will descend upon the Illawarra for the eight-day event as well as thousands of athletes, officials, sponsors and world media. The television audience is predicted to be more than 200 million viewers globally.
“It’s our Olympics; this is the biggest thing we’ll ever do in Wollongong,” Mr Sleigh said.
He said previous large-scale events (like the 20,000-strong crowd for Elton John’s 2017 concert) showed the city had the capacity to deliver on a global stage, while the exposure would be invaluable to the city.
“We’re going to get massive media and social media exposure from actual event,” Mr Sleigh said.
“Once we’ve got that world championship course locked in, people from all around the world will have Wollongong on the radar as being a real genuine cycling destination and they’ll want to come and experience the same course the professionals are riding.”
The championships will attract competitors from more than 50 counties and is set to deliver $94 million to the NSW visitor economy, according to the NSW Office of Sport.
The UCI Road World Championships were last in Australia in 2010 when they were held in Geelong, Victoria. They have since been held at places like Copenhagen, Doha and Florence.
“The event gives Wollongong the opportunity to highlight the natural beauty of our coastline and escarpment on an international stage,” Wollongong Lord Mayor Gordon Bradbery said.
Cycling’s governing body, the UCI, chose Wollongong because of its spectacular views along the NSW south coast.
It has long been popular with amateur cyclists with 42kms of of shared pathways from Sandon Point to Lake Illawarra.
The event is expected to attract the most star-studded international field seen in NSW since the 2000 Olympic Games road races in Sydney.