Climate change and physical inactivity could cost the sports industry 18% of its annual revenue by 2050, according to the World Economic Forum.
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Converging environmental and health challenges are threatening the long-term growth of the $2.3 trillion sports industry, a new report has warned.
The study, published late last month, identified two main risk factors. On the one hand, escalating environmental impacts – from heat stress to extreme weather events and pollution – are “disrupting competitions, diminishing spectator experiences, limiting community well-being and affecting the supply chains and operations that underpin the broader sports economy.” On the other hand, rising physical inactivity levels, particularly among youth, risk translating into less participation and consumers – posing a threat to “revenues across apparel, elite events, tourism and fitness.”
Combined, these threats could result in a 14% loss in annual revenue – some $517 billion – by 2030, and of 18% – or $1.6 trillion – by mid-century.
Climate-Related Disruptions on the Rise
The report, compiled by the World Economic Forum in collaboration with Oliver Wyman, a consultancy, coincided with Italy’s Milano Cortina Winter Olympic Games. The global event renewed discussions about the threats climate change poses to winter sports and the sports industry as a whole.
Italy’s games as well as the 2022 winter edition in Beijing were forced to fully rely on artificial snow amid poor snow coverage. And at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, elevated temperatures were one of the causes of injuries among Paralympic athletes. Summer Olympics also increasingly experience climate-related disruptions, with the most recent games, held in Paris, plagued by extreme heat.
Other major events worldwide also face higher risk of cancellations, delays and adjustments brought about by extreme, unpredictable weather. A 2025 study concluded marathon runners will have less chances of racing in optimal conditions as the planet continues to heat up. It was published a week after Berlin Marathon runners struggled in unusual heat. Just weeks before that, extreme heat disrupted the Athletics World Championships in Tokyo and the world’s top tennis athletes competing in the Shanghai Masters in China, who described the baking weather as “very challenging physically”.
Featured image: Wikimedia Commons.
More on the topic: How Climate Change Is Affecting Professional Sports Worldwide
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