Cricket WC biggest event since 2000 Games

This year’s Cricket World Cup was the biggest event Australia has hosted since the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

The global one-day tournament generated more than $1 billion for the Australian and New Zealand economies when it was held in February and March, according to research by consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCoopers.

It also created the equivalent of 8320 full-time jobs and attracted more than one million spectators, including 145,000 international visitors.

In Australia, the Cricket World Cup was larger than the 2003 Rugby World Cup, 2006 Commonwealth Games and the 2015 Asian Cup.

“This was the biggest event in Australia since the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and it has changed cricket in New Zealand forever,” Cricket World Cup 2015 CEO John Harnden said.

“The Cricket World Cup generated two million bed nights across the two countries and around $855 million in visitor spending which is great for the tourism industries of both countries.”

Harnden said the $1.1 billion in direct spending converted into a $460 million increase in gross domestic product across the two countries.

The report said the total attendance for matches was 1,016,420, including 93,013 for the final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground – a world record for the largest attendance at a cricket game.

Australia beat the Black Caps by seven wickets in the final on March 29.

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