Cheltenham Festival has been a staple of horse racing for over 150 years, and it is one of the biggest events in the industry, with the prize money being second only to the Grand National.
The town has hosted horse racing since 1815, and has become a fundamental event in many peoples calendars ever since.
Despite the controversies surrounding the festival and horse racing in general, I believe that it is a very positive thing for the vast majority involved.
1) The Economic Impact
The annual March meet brings in around 250,000-300,000 people to Cheltenham every year, and it has a huge positive impact on the economy, with around 65,000 people in attendance on each of the four days.
According to research done by the University of Gloucestershire, the festival in 2015 was worth an impressive £100 million to the local economy, but the growth of popularity in the sport over the last several years has helped the event to grow exponentially, and further research during the 2022 festival showed that it made £274 million, which is a significant increase from the event in 2015.
A special report by the #UniOfGlos shows the 2022 Cheltenham Festival had an estimated economic impact of £274 million on the local economy! 😮🏇
— University of Gloucestershire (@uniofglos) March 10, 2023
This was nearly three times the total for the event in 2016!
For more info, check out the article 👉 https://t.co/jw4ngflYqH pic.twitter.com/haFOBtaQeH
The money that it brings to Cheltenham not just from the festival itself, but from the surrounding areas is something that has impacted Gloucestershire based businesses in a very good way.
The festival will be many hotels, restaurants, pubs and bars busiest week of the year, which creates thousands of jobs in and out of the festival, which benefits both workers and businesses. That is why there is no surprise that bars and pubs take advantage of the influx of customers throughout the week.
2) The Growth in Popularity
The growth in popularity of horse racing and the Cheltenham Festival cannot be understated. In 1989, there was just under 150,000 people in attendance. 26 years on in 2015, there was a total attendance of 248,521 people, which is a 66% increase in racegoers over the two-and-a-half-decades.
The huge injection of people coming into Cheltenham every March not only helps the town economically, but it improves reputation and increases the profile of the local area.
The new stand at Cheltenham racecourse has been a key reason why there has been such an injection of revenue and popularity at the festival over the last several years. The new stand opened in 2015 and since then, there has been a huge increase in attendance.
3) The Tradition
The Gold Cup has been an iconic tradition since its inauguration in 1924, almost a century ago. Each day of the festival, from the opening Champions Day, all the way to Gold Cup day on Friday.
It is an iconic week that is steeped in tradition, and it is loved by hundreds of thousands of people. Although a lot of people will go to their first ever Cheltenham Festival each year, thousands of racegoers are regulars and for many people it will be a very special week that is a must-do every single year.
