France makes estimated €2bn from Rugby World Cup
Their team might have crashed out in the quarter finals, but host nation France can at least take comfort from the official estimate of a €2 billion profit from the Rugby World Cup - while Irish and Scottish fans set a new record for beer sales.
The tournament ended on Saturday night with a gripping final between New Zealand and South Africa, and after a tournament almost two months in length the accounts are being totted up.
The initial estimates have declared a profit of €2 billion from hosting the tournament - which saw nine cities act as hosts before the contest returned to Stade de France for its final stages.
Around 2.5 million tickets were sold, many of which bought well in advance of the competition, which the French Rugby federation estimates will bring in a profit of between €35 and €40 million.
But there were also indirect benefits with an estimated 600,000 foreign fans travelling to France specially for the competition.
The nine host cities all recorded a boost in spending on tourist accommodation as well as in bars and restaurants - data from Mastercard recorded spending up by 31 percent in Marseille on match days, and 26 percent in Toulouse.
The Ireland v Scotland pool stage match on October 7th also broke a record - with 137,000 pints of beer sold at Stade de France to the 78,459 spectators, easily beating the previous record of 90,000 pints, which was set during a Metallica concert at the stadium.
However the elimination of the France team in the quarter finals not only broke many French hearts, it also disappointed the accountants - broadcaster TF1 was forced to halve its advertising rates for the semi finals and final, while fewer than expected corporate hospitality boxes were sold for the final matches, leading to a predicted loss of between €10 and €20 billion.
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The tournament ended on Saturday night with a gripping final between New Zealand and South Africa, and after a tournament almost two months in length the accounts are being totted up.
The initial estimates have declared a profit of €2 billion from hosting the tournament - which saw nine cities act as hosts before the contest returned to Stade de France for its final stages.
Around 2.5 million tickets were sold, many of which bought well in advance of the competition, which the French Rugby federation estimates will bring in a profit of between €35 and €40 million.
But there were also indirect benefits with an estimated 600,000 foreign fans travelling to France specially for the competition.
The nine host cities all recorded a boost in spending on tourist accommodation as well as in bars and restaurants - data from Mastercard recorded spending up by 31 percent in Marseille on match days, and 26 percent in Toulouse.
The Ireland v Scotland pool stage match on October 7th also broke a record - with 137,000 pints of beer sold at Stade de France to the 78,459 spectators, easily beating the previous record of 90,000 pints, which was set during a Metallica concert at the stadium.
However the elimination of the France team in the quarter finals not only broke many French hearts, it also disappointed the accountants - broadcaster TF1 was forced to halve its advertising rates for the semi finals and final, while fewer than expected corporate hospitality boxes were sold for the final matches, leading to a predicted loss of between €10 and €20 billion.
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