The 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup draws to a close in Melbourne on Sunday, with organisers targeting a new record for the final.
Having commenced on February 21, 10 teams will have contested 22 matches in eight venues across six host cities in Australia by the time the final rolls around at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG).
Coinciding with International Women’s Day, organisers are hoping that the final of the cricket tournament will set a record for the highest attendance at a women’s sporting fixture. This honour is currently held by football’s 1999 FIFA Women’s World Cup final, when 90,185 watched the United States beat China at the Rose Bowl in California, USA.
The Women’s T20 World Cup has already set new benchmarks, including the highest attendance at a standalone women’s cricket match in Australia, when 13,432 fans attended the opening clash between Australia and India at Sydney Showground Stadium.
At the halfway mark of the group stage on February 28, organisers reported that over 50,000 tickets had been sold for the final, with this figure already more than double the number that were pre-sold for the Lord’s final of the 2017 Women’s World Cup in England.
With family-friendly priced tickets available from Aus$20 (€12/$13) for adults and all children’s tickets at Aus$5, the final also has another notable draw in the shape of a performance by US pop singer Katy Perry.
The superstar will perform two songs before the start of the contest and will then provide a full one-hour post-match concert.
A limited number of fans will also be given the unique opportunity to watch the post-match show on the MCG turf, with fans who purchased tickets prior to February 24 eligible to enter a ballot for one of around 5,000 exclusive places on the field in front of the stage.
However, the final of the 2020 Women’s T20 World Cup will not be the only major international cricket occasion at the MCG this year.
Australia will also host the 2020 Men’s T20 World Cup, with that event taking place from October 18 to November 15.
Nick Hockley, T20 World Cup 2020 Local Organising Committee CEO, told us that whilst the events are being held separately, they will be given equal billing.
From the activations outside the venues to the match graphics and entertainment within each ground, the consistent tournament theme of ‘Welcome to the Big Dance’ will shine through.
Of course, tailoring and delivering the fan experience for two major events held at opposite ends of the year creates its own set of challenges for an organising body.
However, the goal is to explore how to connect the two tournaments together, what can be shared – in terms of the two-way flow of production, technology and logistics between the events to find efficiencies – and what needs to change to be a point of difference to ensure that both competitions linger in the memory in their own way.
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