UK sport attendances rise across the board in 2015

Football crowds account for more than 61 per cent of sporting attendances in the UK

Attendances at sports events in the UK this year have increased on 2014, with football, rugby and horse racing enjoying particular highs according to a Deloitte report.

The study found that more than 70m tickets were sold for UK sports events in 2015, an increase of five per cent on last year, although it falls short of the 75m in 2012, when London hosted the Olympics.

Football is the UK's most popular sport, with 43.4m attending games across the country, which accounts for over 61 per cent of this year's total.

Just under 500,000 people attended Wimbledon fortnight

The Premier League (13.7m) and the Championship (10m) are first and third respectively in terms of aggregate attendances in Europe, while the popularity of women's football continues to grow with the Women's Super League achieving a 48 per cent increase in attendances in 2015.  

Formula One tops the figures when it comes to attendees-per-event-day, with the British Grand Prix averaging over 100,000 visitors per day.

The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the biggest ever with 2.5m tickets sold for the tournament, while Wimbledon remains the best-attended annual ticketed UK sports event, with just under 500,000 spectators turning up during the fortnight.

An estimated 6.2m people watched horse-racing in 2015

Meanwhile, horse racing remains one of the country's most popular spectator sports - Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival and the Epsom Derby were in the top 10 most attended UK sports events this year - with an estimated 6.2m people watching the sport in 2015.

Royal Ascot alone attracted almost 300,000 visitors over the five days.

Alan Switzer of Deloitte said: "British racecourses are on track for record attendances of 6.2m in 2015. 

"Flagship events such as Royal Ascot, the Cheltenham Festival and the Epsom Derby are firmly established in the top tier of best attended annual UK sporting events, whilst the breadth and depth of other meetings throughout the year ensure horse racing remains one of the UK's most popular spectator sports."  

Fans watch the action during the Ashes Test between England and Australia at The Oval

More than 2.3m spectators attended cricket matches in 2015, the highest overall attendance figure since the ECB was founded 18 years ago. All three domestic competitions (1.5m) achieved year-on-year increases, and 0.8m attended international matches, the highlight of which was England reclaiming the Ashes.

The appeal of the NFL to UK audiences strengthened further, as over a quarter of a million (252,000) turned out for the three NFL fixtures held at Wembley in 2015.