France: 41 million spectators attended sporting events in 2024, +16% in 5 years (Two Circles)

"France hits historic 41 million spectators in 2024, powered by 12.1 million Paris 2024 tickets, breaking records for the second year in a row," announced Two Circles, which published its "2024 Sports Attendance - France Edition" report on 13/02/2025.

Attendance at sporting events in France has seen grown "by 16% over the past five years (since 2019), excluding major events, compared to a 7% increase in the UK," said the UK data-driven sports marketing agency.

The Paris 2024 Olympic Games (95% fill rate) accounted for 29% of total attendance. Excluding the Olympic Games, football accounted for 45% of total attendance across all sports. Football drew 14.7 million people, with an average of 27,365 people per match in the Ligue 1 McDonald's during the 2023-24 season. Rugby, in second place, accounting for 20% (6.46 million), was the discipline with the biggest increase in attendance (+22%, including +28% in the Investec Champions Cup) compared with 2023, and benefitted from the momentum of the Rugby World Cup 2023, which sold 2.3 million tickets.

Attendance figures for other sports…