# Best-attended single-sport tournaments



## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Out of interest, I just tried compiling a list of all the international tournaments that have had a a total attendance over 1 million (excluding multi-sports tournaments like the Olympics, or leagues played in multiple countries):

1994 FIFA World Cup - 3,587,538 (68,991)
2006 FIFA World Cup - 3,359,439 (52,491)
2010 FIFA World Cup - 3,178,156 (49,670)
1998 FIFA World Cup - 2,785,100 (43,517)
2002 FIFA World Cup - 2,705,197 (42,269)
1990 FIFA World Cup - 2,516,348 (48,391)
1986 FIFA World Cup - 2,393,031 (46,020)
2007 Rugby World Cup - 2,263,223 (47,150)
1982 FIFA World Cup - 2,109,723 (40,572)
2003 Rugby World Cup - 1,837,547 (38,282)
1974 FIFA World Cup - 1,774,022 (46,685)
1978 FIFA World Cup - 1,546,151 (40,688)
1966 FIFA World Cup - 1,635,000 (51,094)
1970 FIFA World Cup - 1,603,975 (50,124)
1999 Rugby World Cup 1,556,572 (37,965)
UEFA Euro 1996 - 1,276,137 (41,166)
UEFA Euro 2004 - 1,156,473 (37,306)
UEFA Euro 2008 - 1,140,902 (36,803)
UEFA Euro 2000 - 1,122,833 (36,220)
1991 Rugby World Cup - 1,060,065 (33,127)
2007 Copa America - 1,050,230 (40,393)
1950 FIFA World Cup - 1,043,500 (47,432)

Are there any that I've missed (I couldn't find any other figures for the Copa America)? Does any sport other than soccer and rugby union attract more than a million fans to a tournament?


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## Scba (Nov 20, 2004)

The most-attended international baseball tournament I believe is the 2009 World Baseball Classic, which topped out somewhere around 800,000.


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## Alemanniafan (Dec 15, 2008)

The UEFA's Championsleague (formerly the so called:"European Champions Clubs’ Cup") and Euroleague as well (the former UEFA cup).

And according to that Definition you'd probably also have to consider several national soccer cup tournaments as well, like the German DFB Pokal, and if one was being very precise, then probably also even the national soccer leagues because you didn't specifically exclude them.

So you I suggest that you either rephrase the terms, or add some more specifications - or also consider the German soccer cup (DFB Pokal)
and the German Bundesliga, as well as English Premier League the English soccer cup and several other national leagues and cup tournaments. Not just from soccer but also from other sports like basketball, baseball, american football, Rugby, Hockey and so on...

And even if you exclude all the national leagues, you'd still have the problem of national or international cup tournaments or also league playoffs, which are all by their nature also very much of a tournament character. Especially when they're based on a knockout type of modus.

Why I'm writing this is, because it's not all that simple to find some "hard criteria" of which kind of tournaments to include and which not. The UEFA Championsleague or Euroleague are both (despite of their new names) naturally cup contest, but they are being played or hosted in more than just one country. 
- On the other hand the Fifa Worldcup in Japan/Korea as well as the European Championship in Switzerland and Austria were in fact both nothing else, those tournaments were pretty much exactly the same kind of cup contest and they were also held in more than just one country. And many national cup contests in several sports are as I allready mentioned the same kind of cup tournament as well, hosted or played in a single country and just as well based on a knockout type of contest structure.


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## PolskiNorsk (Mar 4, 2009)

Alemanniafan said:


> And according to that Definition you'd probably also have to consider several national soccer cup tournaments as well, like the German DFB Pokal, and if one was being very precise, then probably also even the national soccer leagues because you didn't specifically exclude them.
> 
> So you I suggest that you either rephrase the terms, or add some more specifications - or also consider the German soccer cup (DFB Pokal)
> and the German Bundesliga, as well as English Premier League the English soccer cup and several other national leagues and cup tournaments. Not just from soccer but also from other sports like basketball, baseball, american football, Rugby, Hockey and so on...


:cripes: Alemanniafan, please read again:



CharlieP said:


> Out of interest, I just tried compiling a list of all the *international* tournaments that have had a a total attendance over 1 million (excluding multi-sports tournaments like the Olympics, or leagues played in multiple countries)


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

By international tournaments I mean an event, hosted by a single country or collaborating countries, where national teams compete. Sorry if that wasn't clear enough.


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## Alemanniafan (Dec 15, 2008)

CharlieP said:


> By international tournaments I mean an event, hosted by a single country or collaborating countries, where national teams compete. Sorry if that wasn't clear enough.


Ok well then maybe include the Tour de France or the Giro d'Italia and some more bicycle races into the list. Okay they don't have national teams competing but they have internationally sponsored teams at least and come up with "national heroes" as a result. Okay they're not tournaments of course, but they are international sports competitions at least.

Of course I do surely kind of get an idea of what you're interested in, but as I said, it is indeed kinda difficult to clearly outline what criteria you're interested in applying. And why you want to include the WC in Japan and Korea for example and not the Championsleague, where the teams may not be national teams of course, but at least also qualify via their national leagues and they all do score ranking points for the national leagues, allowing those to participate with more or less teams. So the contest does also clearly have nationally relevant effects and also national interests and nationwide viewers and supporters.

If you're only interested in the worldcups of various sports, then feel free to define it as worldcup tournaments only, but obviously you seem to want to include a few more tournaments than just the worldcups only - and not to forget, not every sport has a worldcup tournament. And in many sports like tennis other tournaments are far more important and attractive than worldcups, like Wimbledon for example.
What you have so far are only a very few number of worldcups and european cups, and this one Copa Americana. But what's the real point behind considering a worldcup held in more than one country, but not an extremely simmilarly structured Championsleague tournament or even also a bicycle race like the Tour de France? 

Of course there are clear differences, but on the other hand all of these sports contest also have very clear simmilarities and they might clearly be well worth considering and comparing.

The tournaments you have selected to take into that list seem to be selected by just plain subjective criteria and not really by any kind of objective standards, which could be halfwhat equally applicable to several kinds of sports and tournaments.

Why don't you simply just collect a list of all large sports competitions with more than one million spectators instead? And then maybe try to get those all organized in different categories. 
That way you could probably very easily get together a somewhat interesting list of large sports events with several compareable results and aspects. Like for example comparing different types of contests (races/ leagues/ cup tournaments/ compared World cups only / etc...) different lengths of contests (if they're being held over a year or months or within weeks or just days) average attendancies for single events and things like that. What you're trying to do now is getting a collection of tournaments where you have a hard time to clearly outline the objective standards by which you chose to include them and why you only want to compare those selected contests and not compare them with other very simmilar or even nearly identical kinds of contests also. To me it just seems to lack a certain structure behind the criteria of generating that list to really be able to get interesting results out of it in the end.


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Euro 1988: The attendance was just a little bit under 1 million, but the average was the highest of any european football tournaments:

teams: 8
games: 15
avg: 62,300 (935,000)


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## KingmanIII (Aug 25, 2008)

2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - 1,125,120 (45,005)


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

A much smaller tournament than those listed above, but the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships drew quite well.

*Attendance: 329,687 (10,635 per match)*

The record attendance for the World Championships (Ice Hockey) was set in 2004.

*Attendance: 552,097 (9,858 per match)*

Hockey could potentially break the 1,000,000 mark if it were hosted by the right city: Toronto, Montreal, New York, Chicago, etc.


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## T3amgeist (Sep 23, 2008)

Its curios that the tournament witch the highest attendance was the world cup in the USA.


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## PolskiNorsk (Mar 4, 2009)

T3amgeist said:


> Its curios that the tournament witch the highest attendance was the world cup in the USA.


That's because all the games were held in NFL and major NCAA football stadiums, which all seat between 50,000 and 100,000.


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Alemanniafan said:


> Of course I do surely kind of get an idea of what you're interested in, but as I said, it is indeed kinda difficult to clearly outline what criteria you're interested in applying.


By "tournaments" I meant events held every few years, where national teams from around the world or a geographic area compete on neutral territory (other than the hosts, of course) over a period of a few weeks. The Champions League is massive, but it doesn't meet any of those criteria.

The Six Nations Championship will probably get close to a million spectators next year, but doesn't qualify either, as it's annual and doesn't have a single host or co-hosts.


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

isaidso said:


> A much smaller tournament than those listed above, but the 2011 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships drew quite well.
> 
> *Attendance: 329,687 (10,635 per match)*
> 
> ...


Cool. I'd kind of discounted all arena sports due to the size of the venues - that's interesting to know, thanks.

The next Cricket World Cup would have been in with a chance too, given the size of some of the Australian grounds, but the number of participants has been reduced from this year.


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## Master of Disguise (Aug 1, 2010)

Nopes...participant have not been reduced for Australian cricket world cup....that was reversed long back.....There will be 4 qualifying teams along with major nations competing


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Updated to include the 2011 Rugby World Cup - it wasn't as well attended as the previous two because of the comparatively small size of New Zealand's stadia. Organisers of the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England hope to sell 3 million tickets.

1994 FIFA World Cup - 3,587,538 (68,991)
2006 FIFA World Cup - 3,359,439 (52,491)
2010 FIFA World Cup - 3,178,156 (49,670)
1998 FIFA World Cup - 2,785,100 (43,517)
2002 FIFA World Cup - 2,705,197 (42,269)
1990 FIFA World Cup - 2,516,348 (48,391)
1986 FIFA World Cup - 2,393,031 (46,020)
2007 Rugby World Cup - 2,263,223 (47,150)
1982 FIFA World Cup - 2,109,723 (40,572)
2003 Rugby World Cup - 1,837,547 (38,282)
1974 FIFA World Cup - 1,774,022 (46,685)
1978 FIFA World Cup - 1,546,151 (40,688)
1966 FIFA World Cup - 1,635,000 (51,094)
1970 FIFA World Cup - 1,603,975 (50,124)
*2011 Rugby World Cup - 1,477,294 (30,777)*
UEFA Euro 1996 - 1,276,137 (41,166)
UEFA Euro 2004 - 1,156,473 (37,306)
UEFA Euro 2008 - 1,140,902 (36,803)
2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup - 1,125,120 (45,005)
UEFA Euro 2000 - 1,122,833 (36,220)
2007 Copa America - 1,050,230 (40,393)
1950 FIFA World Cup - 1,043,500 (47,432)


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## Knitemplar (Aug 16, 2008)

CharlieP said:


> Out of interest, I just tried compiling a list of all the international tournaments that have had a a total attendance over 1 million (excluding multi-sports tournaments like the Olympics, or leagues played in multiple countries):
> 
> 1994 FIFA World Cup - 3,587,538 (68,991)


Which one is that? The one in the US, right? *Wow!! Still holds up for nearly 20 years!! *


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Maybe it would help if I included the hosts. 

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,393,031 (46,020) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,546,151 (40,688) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,635,000 (51,094) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,603,975 (50,124) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)


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## Xup (Jan 13, 2012)

@CharlieP :

2011 cricket world cup in India? it qualifies as international, single-sport and hosted in a single country. Some of those Indian stadiums are massive and I know the games are almost all sell-outs. There were something like a dozen teams participating.

Compounded attendancy figures must be very high.


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Xup said:


> @CharlieP :
> 
> 2011 cricket world cup in India? it qualifies as international, single-sport and hosted in a single country. Some of those Indian stadiums are massive and *I know the games are almost all sell-outs*. There were something like a dozen teams participating.


You can't be serious. A lot of games, apart from those involving the host nations, were played in near-empty stadia. hno:

http://sports.espn.go.com/extra/cricket/columns/story?columnist=della_penna_peter&id=6232134


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## Xup (Jan 13, 2012)

Ah, ok then. I was in Mumbai at the time of the India-Pakistan semi and was amazed at the following, and the reports from the crowds trying to get near the ground in Mohali. I wrongly assumed overall attendances must have been sky high since the entire country basically went to a standstill for that game.

Would have liked to see crowd figures though, but could not find them in a quick google search. India, Pakistan Bangladesh alone must have been full-houses, I'm guessing there was also big numbers for Oz and England games... a ground total of 50 games :

http://www.espncricinfo.com/blank/engine/series/381449.html

with an average of 20K per game, that would already be a million...


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## Joenkike (Jul 8, 2007)

2011 FIFA U-20 World Cup Colombia - 1,309,929 (25,191 per match)
2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup Egypt - 1,292,720 (24,860 per match)


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## SSE (Jul 28, 2009)

CharlieP said:


> By "tournaments" I meant events held every few years, where national teams from around the world or a geographic area compete on neutral territory (other than the hosts, of course) over a period of a few weeks. The Champions League is massive, but it doesn't meet any of those criteria.
> 
> *The Six Nations Championship will probably get close to a million spectators next year, but doesn't qualify either, as it's annual and doesn't have a single host or co-hosts.*


Out of interest I just looked this up using the attendance figures on scrum.com

2012 Six Nations 
Total Attendance 1,021,745 
Average attendance 68,116

Highest attendance of the 2012 tournament was 80,764 for England v Wales at Twickenham.


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## Knitemplar (Aug 16, 2008)

CharlieP said:


> Out of interest, I just tried compiling a list of all the international tournaments that have had a a total attendance over 1 million (excluding multi-sports tournaments like the Olympics, or leagues played in multiple countries):
> 
> 1994 FIFA World Cup - 3,587,538 (68,991)


What people forget too, is that 1994 was still only a 24-nation tournament. So the current 32-nation formula would create how many more games. and would bring up the total to something like *4.75 million*, based on the 1994 figures.
.
.
.
.


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## alexandru.mircea (May 18, 2011)

^ Why do you thing we forget that? It's common knowledge between any half-decent football fan. Same for the EURO: it was 8 teams from 1980 to 1992, and 4 teams from 1960 to 1976. I didn't even need to look that up.


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## Knitemplar (Aug 16, 2008)

alexandru.mircea said:


> ^ Why do you thing we forget that? It's common knowledge between any half-decent football fan. Same for the EURO: it was 8 teams from 1980 to 1992, and 4 teams from 1960 to 1976. I didn't even need to look that up.


Because others DO FORGET that fact. Geez, s-o-r-r-y if it was redundant 4 u. hno: 

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## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

Knitemplar said:


> What people forget too, is that 1994 was still only a 24-nation tournament. So the current 32-nation formula would create how many more games. and would bring up the total to something like *4.75 million*, based on the 1994 figures.


Your calculation shows how little you know about this game. There are just 12 more games now compared to pre 1998. The 1994 average attendance would multiply to 4,4 mio rather than 4,75 mio.

64 x 68'991 = 4'415'424


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## Knitemplar (Aug 16, 2008)

flierfy said:


> Your calculation shows how little you know about this game. There are just 12 more games now compared to pre 1998. The 1994 average attendance would multiply to 4,4 mio rather than 4,75 mio.
> 
> 64 x 68'991 = 4'415'424


Oh WHOOPPEE!, so you're more knowledgeable. *Kudos to you.* I will duly alert the Nobel Prize Committee. hno:

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.


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## alexandru.mircea (May 18, 2011)

Guesses / estimates for ACN 2013? Can it join the other large tournaments like those in the list here? Personally I hope for low ticket prices, so that good football won't be played on state of the arts stadiums that will be largely empty.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

Tickets are between around €5.80 and € 17 (final).
http://en.starafrica.com/football/how-to-attend-orange-afcon-2013-south-africa-tickets.html

That's still probably a lot for most South Africans


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## crazydude (Aug 4, 2009)

alexandru.mircea said:


> Guesses / estimates for ACN 2013? Can it join the other large tournaments like those in the list here? Personally I hope for low ticket prices, so that good football won't be played on state of the arts stadiums that will be largely empty.





Rev Stickleback said:


> Tickets are between around €5.80 and € 17 (final).
> http://en.starafrica.com/football/how-to-attend-orange-afcon-2013-south-africa-tickets.html
> 
> That's still probably a lot for most South Africans


Tickets start at R50, which is about $6.25. To put that in perspective, a 500ml Coke costs R9, a ticket to a PSL match costs R40, and Bafana's frienly against Norway had tickets at R50 and R100.

The first 2 rounds of group matches are being played as double headers, that is all 4 teams play on the same day, at the same stadium. Organisers had hoped to sell 500 000 tickets. 500 000/ 32 matches gives an average of 15 625. If you Count the 2 matches in a double header as 1, then there are 24 matches, and an average of 20 833.

However marketing is virtually none existent. Ticket sales have been very slow. 300 000 tickets have been 'sold', but that includes freebies given to cities, CAF and teams. My own city, Port Elizabeth, has sold only 31 052 tickets in total.

Unless something drastic happens I wouldn't expect more than a 10 000 average.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

Mind you, this isn't the world cup, and doesn't have millions of fans pouring in from across the world.

A 10,000 average would probably be pretty decent in comparison to previous tournaments. 

Last time out, one match (while not typical) drew just 132 people, and only 200 went to one of the quarter finals.


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## flierfy (Mar 4, 2008)

Rev Stickleback said:


> Mind you, this isn't the world cup, and doesn't have millions of fans pouring in from across the world.
> 
> A 10,000 average would probably be pretty decent in comparison to previous tournaments.
> 
> Last time out, one match (while not typical) drew just 132 people, and only 200 went to one of the quarter finals.


That just raises the question why so many high profile players have to leave their clubs in the midst of the season to play in front of rather poor crowds.


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## Rev Stickleback (Jun 23, 2009)

flierfy said:


> That just raises the question why so many high profile players have to leave their clubs in the midst of the season to play in front of rather poor crowds.


Because they are proud to be playing for their country perhaps?

Of course the more obvious question is why a tournament taking place in the southern hemisphere couldn't be played in June?


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Bumping my own thread with a few recent additions to the list.

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,393,031 (46,020) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,750,000 (42,683) - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
1,546,151 (40,688) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,635,000 (51,094) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,603,975 (50,124) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,440,896 (46,481) - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
1,309,929 (25,191) - 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup (Colombia)
1,292,720 (24,860) - 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Cup (Egypt)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,195,299 (22,987) - FIFA Under 20 World Cup (Canada)
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)


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## Kerrybai (Apr 29, 2013)

^ I notice you don't have Euro 88 on there?

Wiki puts it at 849,844 (56,656 per match) Or perhaps you are only listing tournaments above 1 million?


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## Gutovsky (Aug 11, 2006)

FIFA says the attendance for the current World Cup should remain at around 2 million people for the 40 games (the 1994 WC had 52 matches; 1998, 2002, 2006 and 2010 had 64 matches each).


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## will101 (Jan 16, 2011)

Kerrybai said:


> ^ I notice you don't have Euro 88 on there?
> 
> Wiki puts it at 849,844 (56,656 per match) Or perhaps you are only listing tournaments above 1 million?


It looks like he's only doing raw totals above one million, with the per match figure not in the ranking at all.


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

I went for the total figure to show which the "biggest" tournaments have been. Averages are only useful to a point - you can't really claim that Euro 68, with its four games plus replay, was a bigger tournament than the World Cup two years before it. Here are the averages though:

68,991 - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
56,656 - UEFA Euro 1988 (West Germany)
52,491 - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
52,183 - UEFA Euro 1968 (Italy)
51,094 - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
50,124 - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
49,670 - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
48,391 - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
47,432 - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil) 
47,150 - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
46,685 - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
46,481 - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
46,020 - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
45,005 - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
43,517 - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
42,683 - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
42,269 - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
41,166 - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
40,688 - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
40,572 - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
40,393 - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)


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## Kobo (Dec 12, 2006)

CharlieP said:


> I went for the total figure to show which the "biggest" tournaments have been. Averages are only useful to a point - you can't really claim that Euro 68, with its four games plus replay, was a bigger tournament than the World Cup two years before it. Here are the averages though:
> 
> 68,991 - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
> 56,656 - UEFA Euro 1988 (West Germany)
> ...


The average attendance so far at this years Brazil World Cup is 51,989. That would put it 5th on your list and 3rd in terms highest average attendance for a Fifa World Cup. Hopefully it can overtake Germany's 2006 average of 52,491 by the end of the tournament.


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

Kobo said:


> The average attendance so far at this years Brazil World Cup is 51,989. That would put it 5th on your list and 3rd in terms highest average attendance for a Fifa World Cup. Hopefully it can overtake Germany's 2006 average of 52,491 by the end of the tournament.


Is 51,989 the official Fifa figures? 
If they are, Brazil will overtake Germany (est. 53,400)!


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## Kobo (Dec 12, 2006)

GEwinnen said:


> Is 51,989 the official Fifa figures?
> If they are, Brazil will overtake Germany (est. 53,400)!


Those were the official Fifa figures before all the quarter finals matches, so since then I am assuming they must have gone up.


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## Yuri S Andrade (Sep 29, 2008)

^^
Figures including the quarter-finals:



ruifo said:


> *******
> 
> 
> _FIFA 2014 World Cup in Brazil_
> ...


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
*3,429,873 (53,592) - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)*
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,393,031 (46,020) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,750,000 (42,683) - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
1,546,151 (40,688) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,635,000 (51,094) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,603,975 (50,124) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,440,896 (46,481) - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
1,309,929 (25,191) - 2011 FIFA Under 20 World Cup (Colombia)
1,292,720 (24,860) - 2009 FIFA Under 20 World Cup (Egypt)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,195,299 (22,987) - FIFA Under 20 World Cup (Canada)
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Rugby World Cup 2015 have announced that over 2 million tickets have now been sold, out of a final total capacity of 2.45 million.


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

Quite a few to add to the list:

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
3,429,873 (53,592) - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,393,031 (46,020) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,750,000 (42,683) - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
1,546,151 (40,688) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,635,000 (51,094) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,603,975 (50,124) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,440,896 (46,481) - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
*1,353,506 (26,029) - 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (Canada)*
1,309,929 (25,191) - 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Colombia)
1,292,720 (24,860) - 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Egypt)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,195,299 (22,987) - 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Canada)
*1,194,215 (37,319) - 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup (USA)
1,156,955 (36,155) - 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup (Germany)*
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
*1,090,396 (41,938) - 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA/Canada)*
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)


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## weava (Sep 8, 2007)

1,418,103 (44,316)- 2014 MLB playoffs


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

CharlieP said:


> Does any sport other than soccer and rugby union attract more than a million fans to a tournament?


Ah, just answered my own question.

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
3,429,873 (53,592) - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,393,031 (46,020) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,750,000 (42,683) - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
1,546,151 (40,688) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,635,000 (51,094) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,603,975 (50,124) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,440,896 (46,481) - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
1,353,506 (26,029) - 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (Canada)
1,309,929 (25,191) - 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Colombia)
1,292,720 (24,860) - 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Egypt)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,195,299 (22,987) - 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Canada)
1,194,215 (37,319) - 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup (USA)
1,156,955 (36,155) - 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup (Germany)
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
1,090,396 (41,938) - 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA/Canada)
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil) 
*1,011,402 (21,071) - 2015 Cricket World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)*


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## isaidso (Mar 21, 2007)

I thought hockey might surpass 1 million but the record is 741,690 for the 2015 IIHF World Championships. The record for the World Junior Hockey Championships is 571,539 set in 2012. Baseball comes a little closer to that benchmark and will surely breach it in the coming years. The World Baseball Classic drew 885,212 in 2013.


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## DjayRX (Mar 1, 2009)

IMO, there should be another list ranking up per game / event / day average.

I mean, short event like 9/10 days IAAF World Championship would never be in the list as you need >100.000 seats stadium. But on per event/daily basis I think it could easily be on the top 10.


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## weava (Sep 8, 2007)

2014 MLB playoffs: 1,418,103 
2015 NBA playoffs: 1,571,345


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

weava said:


> 2014 MLB playoffs: 1,418,103
> 2015 NBA playoffs: 1,571,345


Interesting, but not relevant to this thread.


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## vadin (Dec 22, 2005)

CharlieP said:


> Interesting, but not relevant to this thread.


How is it not relevant? Those playoffs are single sport tournaments, aren't they?


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

vadin said:


> How is it not relevant? Those playoffs are single sport tournaments, aren't they?


No, they're home-and-away series as part of a league. What I'm interested in comparing is events that bring together *national teams* for a tournament on *neutral soil* (other than for the host nation/s).


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## vadin (Dec 22, 2005)

CharlieP said:


> No, they're home-and-away series as part of a league. What I'm interested in comparing is events that bring together *national teams* for a tournament on *neutral soil* (other than for the host nation/s).


Then you should ask that this thread should be renamed "Best-attended single-sport tournaments on neutral soil other than the host nations," because actually playoffs in some places are considered a tournament.


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## Good Karma (Mar 22, 2011)

vadin said:


> Then you should ask that this thread should be renamed "Best-attended single-sport tournaments on neutral soil other than the host nations," because actually playoffs in some places are considered a tournament.


Well it's pretty obvious to most of us what the thread is about. You can always start your own thread if you so wish.


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## Guest (Sep 2, 2015)

^Exactly. 

And the MLB play offs are not single sport tournaments ffs.:nuts: :lol:


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## sandy99 (Sep 25, 2015)

*1,016,420 (21,175) - 2015 Cricket World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)

*


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## jts1882 (Jul 15, 2012)

The current Rugby World Cup is on track to be a record for the competition.



> The Rugby World Cup is only six days old but it is already bigger than any previous edition was after a full six weeks. That bold pronouncement can be made following an analysis by Inside Sport of the key elements used to measure the impact of a sporting event.
> 
> From ticket sales, to commercial revenue, to television audiences, to social media activity, England 2015 has broken virtually all records less than a week after the tournament got under way.
> 
> ...


Top Rugby World Cup attendances:


```
Team 		Pts 	Pts 	Team 			Ground 	Attendance 	Date 	Match
Argentina 	16 	26 	New Zealand 		Wembley Stadium, London 	89019 	20 Sep 2015 	Details
Australia 	17 	20 	England 		Stadium Australia, Sydney 	82957 	22 Nov 2003 	Details
Australia 	22 	10 	New Zealand 		Stadium Australia, Sydney 	82444 	15 Nov 2003 	Details
England 	24 	7 	France 			Stadium Australia, Sydney 	82346 	16 Nov 2003 	Details
Australia 	24 	8 	Argentina 		Stadium Australia, Sydney 	81350 	10 Oct 2003 	Details
England 	6 	15 	South Africa 		Stade de France, Paris 		80430 	20 Oct 2007 	Details
France 		9 	14 	England 		Stade de France, Paris 		80283 	13 Oct 2007 	Details
France 		25 	3 	Ireland 		Stade de France, Paris 		80267 	21 Sep 2007 	Details
New Zealand 	53 	37 	Wales	 		Stadium Australia, Sydney 	80112 	2 Nov 2003 	Details
England 	35 	11 	Fiji 			Twickenham Stadium, London 	80015 	18 Sep 2015 	Details
France 		12 	17 	Argentina 		Stade de France, Paris 		79312 	7 Sep 2007 	Details
France 		51 	9 	Scotland 		Stadium Australia, Sydney 	78974 	25 Oct 2003 	Details
England 	0 	36 	South Africa 		Stade de France, Paris 		77523 	14 Sep 2007 	Details
Argentina 	13 	37 	South Africa 		Stade de France, Paris 		77055 	14 Oct 2007 	Details
Argentina 	19 	13 	Scotland 		Stade de France, Paris 		76866 	7 Oct 2007 	Details
France 		32 	10 	Italy	 		Twickenham Stadium, London 	76232 	19 Sep 2015 	Details
England 	21 	44 	South Africa 		Stade de France, Paris 		75000 	24 Oct 1999 	Details
England 	16 	30 	New Zealand 		Twickenham Stadium, London 	73500 	9 Oct 1999 	Details
England 	101 	10 	Tonga	 		Twickenham Stadium, London 	73000 	15 Oct 1999 	Details
Australia 	27 	21 	South Africa 		Twickenham Stadium, London 	73000 	30 Oct 1999 	Details
France 		43 	31 	New Zealand 		Twickenham Stadium, London 	73000 	31 Oct 1999 	Details
Wales 		23 	18 	Argentina 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	72500 	1 Oct 1999 	Details
Wales 		64 	15 	Japan	 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	72500 	9 Oct 1999 	Details
Wales 		31 	38 	Samoa 			Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	72500 	14 Oct 1999 	Details
Wales 		9 	24 	Australia 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	72500 	23 Oct 1999 	Details
Australia 	35 	12 	France 			Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	72500 	6 Nov 1999 	Details
Wales 		54 	9 	Uruguay 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	71887 	20 Sep 2015 	Details
France 		20 	18 	New Zealand 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	71699 	6 Oct 2007 	Details
Wales 		20 	32 	Australia 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	71022 	15 Sep 2007 	Details
England 	12 	18 	New Zealand 		Twickenham Stadium, London 	70000 	3 Oct 1991 	Details
England 	67 	7 	Italy 			Twickenham Stadium, London 	70000 	2 Oct 1999 	Details
Canada 		7 	50 	Ireland 		Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	68523 	19 Sep 2015 	Details
Australia 	28 	13 	Fiji 			Millennium Stadium, Cardiff 	67253 	23 Sep 2015 	Details
Scotland 	0 	40 	New Zealand 		Murrayfield, Edinburgh 		64558 	23 Sep 2007 	Details
France 		13 	40 	New Zealand 		Stadium Australia, Sydney 	62712 	20 Nov 2003 	Details
South Africa 	15 	12 	New Zealand 		Ellis Park, Johannesburg 	62000 	24 Jun 1995 	Details
New Zealand 	8 	7 	France 			Eden Park, Auckland 		61079 	23 Oct 2011 	Details
New Zealand 	37 	17 	France 			Eden Park, Auckland 		60856 	24 Sep 2011 	Details
Fiji 		7 	27 	Samoa 			Eden Park, Auckland 		60327 	25 Sep 2011 	Details
New Zealand 	41 	10 	Tonga 			Eden Park, Auckland 		60214 	9 Sep 2011 	Details
New Zealand 	20 	6 	Australia 		Eden Park, Auckland 		60087 	16 Oct 2011 	Details
Scotland 	47 	9 	Japan 			Murrayfield, Edinburgh 		60000 	5 Oct 1991 	Details
Scotland 	24 	15 	Ireland 		Murrayfield, Edinburgh 		60000 	12 Oct 1991 	Details
Scotland 	28 	6 	Samoa 			Murrayfield, Edinburgh 		60000 	19 Oct 1991 	Details
Scotland 	6 	9 	England 		Murrayfield, Edinburgh 		60000 	26 Oct 1991 	Details
England 	45 	24 	Fiji 			Twickenham Stadium, London 	60000 	20 Oct 1999 	Details
Scotland 	18 	30 	New Zealand 		Murrayfield, Edinburgh 		59757 	24 Oct 1999 	Details
Australia 	10 	12 	England 		Stade Velodrome, Marseille 	59102 	6 Oct 2007 	Details
France 		64 	7 	Georgia 		Stade Velodrome, Marseille 	58695 	30 Sep 2007 	Details
Australia 	6 	15 	Ireland 		Eden Park, Auckland 		58678 	17 Sep 2011 	Details
```
http://stats.espnscrum.com/scrum/rugby/records/team/highest_attendance.html?id=17;type=trophy


Where will it rank?



CharlieP said:


> Ah, just answered my own question.
> 
> 3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
> 3,429,873 (53,592) - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
> ...


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## vadin (Dec 22, 2005)

5portsF4n said:


> ^Exactly.
> 
> And the MLB play offs are not single sport tournaments ffs.:nuts: :lol:


FFS. GTFOH. Yes it is. LOL.

From Merriam-Webster:
Full Definition of TOURNAMENT

1
a : a knightly sport of the Middle Ages between mounted combatants armed with blunted lances or swords and divided into two parties contesting for a prize or favor bestowed by the lady of the tournament
b : the whole series of knightly sports, jousts, and tilts occurring at one time and place
2
: a series of games or contests that make up a single unit of competition (as on a professional golf tour), *the championship play-offs of a league or conference*, or an invitational event

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/tournament


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## jts1882 (Jul 15, 2012)

That's a poor definition and doesn't include the generally assumed element of a gathering of competitors.

With that definition, the whole MLB season can be considered a tournament, the same for any league or cup competition. The Oxford dictionary definition is similarly general. They are just synonyms for a competition. Neither seems to reflect common usage very well.

For world or regional cups, countries gather in one (or two) countries for the tournament stage of the competition. Similarly for events like a tennis or chess tournament. This fits the origin of the word in mediaeval tournaments, a gathering of knights for a competition. I think for a play-off series to count as a tournament as commonly understood, the teams would have to gather somewhere for the series of games. The NCAA basketball final 64 fits the description of a tournament (or even a series four-team tournaments).


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## Knitemplar (Aug 16, 2008)

2016 Tiddlywinks World Championships @ my garden = 17


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
3,429,873 (53,592) - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
3,031,768 (47,371) - 2018 FIFA World Cup (Russia)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,477,805 (51,621) - 2015 Rugby World Cup (England/Wales)
2,427,303 (47,594) - UEFA Euro 2016 (France)
2,394,031 (46,039) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,750,000 (42,683) - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
1,604,065 (50,127) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,563,135 (48,848) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,545,791 (40,679) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,483,855 (46,370) - Copa América Centenario (2016) (USA)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,440,896 (46,481) - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
1,353,506 (26,029) - 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (Canada)
1,309,929 (25,191) - 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Colombia)
1,292,720 (24,860) - 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Egypt)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,195,299 (22,987) - 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Canada)
1,194,215 (37,319) - 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup (USA)
1,156,955 (36,155) - 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup (Germany)
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
*1,131,312 (21,756) - 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (France)*
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
1,090,396 (41,938) - 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA/Canada)
1,086,720 (27,168) - 2017 World Baseball Classic (USA, Japan, Mexico, South Korea)
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
1,016,420 (20,743) - 2015 Cricket World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

aquamaroon said:


> From a post I made in the 2018 World Cup thread regarding the 2026 World Cup and its ability to hit 4 million attendance:
> 
> 
> 
> So with a revised number from above of 68,991, spread over 80 matches that gives you an attendance of 5,519,280. While there will be a couple smaller stadiums in Canada this time around I still think 60,000+ per game attendance is a good bet for 2026. So that would make the 2026 World Cup not only the first ever sporting tournament to post 4 million in total attendance, but probably also the first ever sporting event to hit over *5 million*, possibly *5.5 million* in attendance! And going by the fact that the 94 World Cup still holds the attendance record despite fewer matches, 2026 may hold the record for a LONG time :cheers:


Or does it make more sense to double the ticket prices and not worry about the drop-off of attendance? Attendance is a very misleading number because you don't know if they paid $5000 a ticket or got free passes.


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## CharlieP (Sep 12, 2002)

3,587,538 (68,991) - 1994 FIFA World Cup (USA)
3,429,873 (53,592) - 2014 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
3,359,439 (52,491) - 2006 FIFA World Cup (Germany)
3,178,156 (49,670) - 2010 FIFA World Cup (South Africa)
3,031,768 (47,371) - 2018 FIFA World Cup (Russia)
2,785,100 (43,517) - 1998 FIFA World Cup (France)
2,705,197 (42,269) - 2002 FIFA World Cup (Japan/Korea)
2,516,348 (48,391) - 1990 FIFA World Cup (Italy)
2,477,805 (51,621) - 2015 Rugby World Cup (England/Wales)
2,427,303 (47,594) - UEFA Euro 2016 (France)
2,394,031 (46,039) - 1986 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
2,263,223 (47,150) - 2007 Rugby World Cup (France, Scotland, Wales)
2,109,723 (40,572) - 1982 FIFA World Cup (Spain)
1,837,547 (38,282) - 2003 Rugby World Cup (Australia)
1,774,022 (46,685) - 1974 FIFA World Cup (West Germany)
1,750,000 (42,683) - 1999 Rugby World Cup (UK/France)
*1,704,443 (37,877) - 2019 Rugby World Cup (Japan)*
1,604,065 (50,127) - 1970 FIFA World Cup (Mexico)
1,563,135 (48,848) - 1966 FIFA World Cup (England)
1,545,791 (40,679) - 1978 FIFA World Cup (Argentina)
1,483,855 (46,370) - Copa América Centenario (2016) (USA)
1,477,294 (30,777) - 2011 Rugby World Cup (New Zealand)
1,440,896 (46,481) - UEFA Euro 2012 (Poland/Ukraine)
1,353,506 (26,029) - 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup (Canada)
1,309,929 (25,191) - 2011 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Colombia)
1,292,720 (24,860) - 2009 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Egypt)
1,276,137 (41,166) - UEFA Euro 1996 (England)
1,195,299 (22,987) - 2007 FIFA Under-20 World Cup (Canada)
1,194,215 (37,319) - 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup (USA)
1,156,955 (36,155) - 2007 FIFA Women's World Cup (Germany)
1,156,473 (37,306) - UEFA Euro 2004 (Portugal)
1,140,902 (36,803) - UEFA Euro 2008 (Austria/Switzerland)
1,131,312 (21,756) - 2019 FIFA Women's World Cup (France)
1,125,120 (45,005) - 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA)
1,122,833 (36,220) - UEFA Euro 2000 (Belgium/Netherlands)
1,090,396 (41,938) - 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup (USA/Canada)
1,086,720 (27,168) - 2017 World Baseball Classic (USA, Japan, Mexico, South Korea)
1,050,230 (40,393) - 2007 Copa América (Venezuela)
1,043,500 (47,432) - 1950 FIFA World Cup (Brazil)
1,016,420 (20,743) - 2015 Cricket World Cup (Australia/New Zealand)


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## GunnerJacket (Jan 25, 2008)

I'm assuming the typhoon had an effect on the attendance, so that's actually pretty good. Good for rugby and for Japan.


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## weava (Sep 8, 2007)

1,650,222 (44,600) - 2019 Major League Baseball Playoffs (USA)


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

weava said:


> 1,650,222 (44,600) - 2019 Major League Baseball Playoffs (USA)


Interesting. I wonder how ticket revenues compare for those events.


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## Guest (Nov 6, 2019)

It has been explained in this thread before that it is for single tournaments, not league playoffs, which is why you dont see a hundred million different playoffs on the list, but why you have a solitary World Baseball Classic.


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

weava said:


> 1,650,222 (44,600) - 2019 Major League Baseball Playoffs (USA)


This is a normal league, otherwise you can also include the Champions League in this list.


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## Gombos (Feb 6, 2011)

Scba said:


> The most-attended international baseball tournament I believe is the 2009 World Baseball Classic, which topped out somewhere around 800,000.


are you crazy? in 39 games, and they had 20,549 per game!

:lol: baseball is even less important than cricket worldwide. football World Cups and Euros can include a lot more matches than 1 Superbowl! Champions League, Europa League, also the same but with less sold outs in the first phases..


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## Gombos (Feb 6, 2011)

basically at the 2020 European Championships (soccer/football) at any LOCAL TEAM match they could fill even 200-300k stadiums. it's a lot over Champions League. you can't pay for a ticket, you are drawn for being able to buy the ticket. the draw includes millions of people.

not to mention some fans want to attend even any random neutral matches. 

for rugby union maybe some higher capacity stadiums would be enough if they started to have sold outs, but for football/soccer in final tournaments of the national teams they need hundreds of thousands.


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## Guest (Nov 9, 2019)

Gombos said:


> are you crazy? in 39 games, and they had 20,549 per game!
> 
> :lol: baseball is even less important than cricket worldwide. football World Cups and Euros can include a lot more matches than 1 Superbowl! Champions League, Europa League, also the same but with less sold outs in the first phases..


And the award for the most pointless post on the forum goes to...

Some guy makes a post about the most attended baseball tournament and you go off on a rant about something which only makes sense in your mind. :nuts::nuts:


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## GEwinnen (Mar 3, 2006)

And please don't forget: Baseball is the most boring game in the world!

:runaway:

:troll:


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## pesto (Jun 29, 2009)

GEwinnen said:


> And please don't forget: Baseball is the most boring game in the world!
> 
> :runaway:
> 
> :troll:


.....and the NEW winner for most pointless post on the forum goes to....:lol:


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