The annual meeting of world sport's governing bodies drew 2,350 officials from 58 nations to the Russian city, delivering a direct economic impact of $4.23 million (£2.64 million/€3.13 million) in spending of non-resident participants, and an indirect impact of $3.46 million (£2.16 million/€2.56 million) - representing increases of 12 and 13 per cent respectively on the pre-event estimates.

The boost to the economy is expected to increase further still as "several organisation have already expressed an interest in holding their next event in St Petersburg as a result of the city's demonstrated ability to organise an event of the size and importance of SportAccord Convention", according to PwC.

A survey also showed that 48 per cent of participants plan to visit the city again and 79 per cent said they would recommend a visit.

The 2013 SportAccord Convention was attended by more than 2,350 participants
from 58 countries


"Our partnership with SportAccord Convention in Saint Petersburg was extremely successful," said Robert Gruman, PwC's Russia advisory leader who heads up the Global Sports Mega-Events Centre of Excellence, which conducted the study.

"While making our own contribution to the event with the Economic Impact Study, we were especially gratified by the networking opportunities, the ability to build relationships with federations and the global sports movement."

The benefits of the 2013 event are also said to have been felt by attendees who, according to the survey, gained on average 13 new "useful business contacts".

The 2014 edition of the SportAccord Convention is scheduled to take place at the Susesi Resort in Belek, Turkey on April 6-11.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


Related stories
September 2013: Vizer officially elected new President of SportAccord International Convention
May 2013: Turkey to host 2014 SportAccord International Convention
April 2012: SportAccord Convention 2013 moved from Sochi to St Petersburg