Sporting Events Bill [HL]

Baroness Nye Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Nye (Lab)]

My Lords, I thank my noble friend the Minister for her clear and concise introduction to this debate, and I refer the House to my golf interest as listed in the register. It is a pleasure to speak at Second Reading and to welcome the Bill. I support its central purpose: to provide the UK with a clear, consistent and credible legislative framework for hosting major international sporting events. The Bill fulfils a clear manifesto commitment to strengthen Britain’s position as a world-leading host of global sporting events and to remove unnecessary uncertainty and delay. It replaces a piecemeal approach with a toolkit that does not need rebuilding every few years. That clarity matters, and this Bill sends the right signal at home and abroad.

As my noble friend has said, major sporting events are not simply moments of entertainment or national celebration; they are economic catalysts, generators of tourism, drivers of inward investment, and powerful platforms for projecting the UK’s values and reputation on the global stage. Sport brings people together like nothing else can, fostering pride, identity and community. Anyone watching the Arsenal parade in north London at the weekend could see that vividly in action, albeit it through a thick pink haze. Sporting events can also play a crucial role in national cohesion and local regeneration. Host cities and regions experience not only immediate economic uplift but longer-term legacy effects. In that sense, major events are more than spectacle; they leave a lasting mark.

Looking ahead, the UEFA Men’s European Championships in 2028, hosted by the UK and Ireland, and a potential FIFA Women’s World Cup in 2035, will again demonstrate what this country has to offer and will be an opportunity to build bonds with other nations by sharing a common human experience. In doing so, they will contribute directly to the UK’s soft power. The ability to convene the world—to host global audiences, athletes and institutions—reinforces our position not merely as a participant in international sport but as a trusted and capable partner. This is not just culturally valuable; it is strategically important. At a time when nations are consciously using sport to project influence and attract investment, the Government have recognised that the UK cannot afford to stand still.

As UK Sport has made clear, certainty and clarity in the legal and regulatory environment are now baseline requirements for international rights holders. The days of relying on ad hoc assurances are long gone. Organisers want to know that a country can move quickly, legislate coherently and deliver reliably. This Bill responds directly to that reality; that is why it has been welcomed by the sector. The British Olympic Association has also endorsed the shift away from bespoke event-by-event legislation, noting that a standing framework strengthens the UK’s competitiveness. I also welcome the Government’s commission of UK Sport to assess the potential for hosting the Olympic or Paralympic Games in the north of England in 2040.

I too welcome the appointment of my noble friend Lord McConnell as a ministerial adviser on soft power and major events; he will bring his long experience and endless enthusiasm to the task. Both are important steps in thinking strategically about the UK’s role as a host nation. That work sits alongside a broader opportunity for the United Kingdom to think more strategically about its events pipeline—how we identify, secure and deliver a balanced portfolio of major events that reflects not only economic opportunity but national priorities such as regional growth, inclusion and sustainability.

The Government are right to build a pipeline of future events that brings growth and inward investment. However, existing excellence should not be overlooked. Our established events are the foundation on which much of our reputation as a host nation rests. They demonstrate year after year that the UK can deliver complex, high-profile international events to the highest standard. It is therefore worth the Government reflecting on whether the framework can evolve, in this Bill or alongside it, to recognise that contribution more explicitly.

I speak with a particular interest as a member of the APPG on golf. Scotland is recognised internationally as the home of golf. In the UK, the Open Championship and the DP World Tour are not peripheral events but among the most economically significant and globally watched sporting occasions. For example, the 2024 Open Championship generated over £300 million in economic benefit, and a UK-hosted Ryder Cup would be comparable to a Rugby World Cup in visitor spend and international profile. While a Solheim Cup, one of the premier competitions in women’s sport, has yet to be hosted in England, that could be a Lioness moment to inspire a new generation of young girls and the entire golf ecosystem. I hope that the forthcoming major events strategy will take note of these opportunities.

Research supported by the R&A illustrates the wider contribution of golf to the UK economy and to society. In 2019, the sport generated over £5 billion in consumer spending, supported more than 60,000 jobs and contributed around £2.6 billion in economic value. Beyond that, golf delivers over £1 billion in social value each year through improvements to physical health, mental well-being and community engagement. That research also highlights health outcomes. Regular participation in golf contributes to the prevention and management of numerous chronic conditions, and golfers live, on average, longer than non-golfers— so get your clubs out. This is a reminder that sport delivers public health benefits as well as economic returns.

I know that the Government will want to reassure the sector that established events will not be inadvertently disadvantaged relative to those brought within the Bill’s framework. The forthcoming cross-sector major events strategy should explicitly address the needs of the regularly staged, nationally significant events.

Turning to enforcement, I welcome the provisions designed to put fans first, particularly those addressing ticket touting. However, given the scale and sophistication of secondary ticketing markets, I do wonder whether the £20,000 cap represents a sufficient deterrent for large-scale operators and whether this will be kept under review as markets evolve. Similarly, the provisions on ambush marketing are essential, given how prevalent this issue is across all sports events; it is not confined to one-off events, and affects commercially significant recurring events. There may therefore be merit in considering whether association rights could, in future, be extended—on a targeted basis or by regulation—to events of genuine national significance. The gap between one-off and recurring events could then be narrowed

I too emphasise the importance of legacy. The true test of this Bill will be not only the events it enables but the impact those events leave behind—in participation, in infrastructure, in economic opportunity and in community well-being. A strong framework is a start, but delivery will decide the outcome.

This is a welcome, timely and necessary Bill. It honours a manifesto commitment, reflects the Government’s ambition for the UK to remain a world-leading host of major sporting events and responds directly to the expectations of international organisers. I welcome the Bill and will support it as it progresses through the House.

Community Sports: Impact on Young People

Baroness Nye Excerpts

Thursday 16th May 2024 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Nye (Lab)]

My Lords, it is a real pleasure to follow that excellent maiden speech from my noble friend Lord Shamash. My noble friend has been a devoted public servant, and I and many colleagues across both Houses have had the benefit of his wise counsel over many years. I know his family are hugely proud of him. Among the many accolades that followed his appointment to this House, he has been described as a “legend” in electoral law. While we on this side of the House want an election sooner rather than later, I rather hope that we do not call upon that particular expertise too often. I also thank my noble friend Lord Wood for securing this debate and for his tour-de-force opening remarks.

I declare an interest as set out in the register and also speak as vice-chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Golf, but—more importantly to me at least—I speak as the mother of two professional golfers, which means I have some experience of the highs and lows of that sport.

It is clear that everyone speaking in this debate will start from the consensus view that sport has a vital role to play in its power to be a force for good that brings communities together, as well as improving the health of the nation. But the Minister will know that, sadly, less than half of children currently meet the daily guidelines for sport and physical activity, and the majority of children would like more. The long-awaited government strategy for the sports sector is long on task forces but short on granular delivery. Will the Minister give some more detail this afternoon about how those plans are to be funded?

If the Government are serious about transforming activity levels, they must start in schools. That is why the Government should commit to giving PE the focus and time in the curriculum that it needs, with properly trained and resourced staff, so that sport and physical activity continue as lifelong habits, with the consequent benefits for health and mental well-being. Traditional PE and competitive sport work for some children but not all. Being active has also to be fun.

One example of the power of non-traditional school sport is the initiative recently launched here in Westminster by Nick Dougherty in his role as president of the Golf Foundation. This is a charity which introduces golf to children from all backgrounds and works in schools and youth clubs as well as golf clubs. Through its work, the foundation became increasingly aware of the decline in young people’s mental health since the Covid lockdowns in 2020 and 2021. To help combat this, the foundation launched an initiative called Unleash Your Drive, which seeks to promote mental well-being in schools with mental toughness tools embedded across six weeks of fun golf games. The programme can be taught by any teacher and in any school hall or playground and has already been rolled out in 500 schools. Children can achieve success straightaway, and the games can be adapted to all abilities. There is also a potential link up with the local golf club and community.

The programme works because golf is an ideal sport to set personal best scores, develop persistence and discover strategies for how to improve and track progress, which are all crucial transferable skills that can be used inside the classroom but also outside the school environment. The programme will cost an estimated £15 million to roll out across all 32,000 primary and secondary schools. I know that the Schools Minister has agreed to meet the Golf Foundation to discuss the scheme, and I hope that the noble Lord the Minister will also support the calls for government funding.

The R&A supports the work of the Golf Foundation, but it also runs programmes of its own to promote the health benefits of playing golf. Eighteen holes is the equivalent of walking four to five miles—significantly more than the 10,000 daily steps recommended—and if that is not enough, research from the Swedish Golf Federation has shown that golfers live five years longer than non-golfers.

The benefits to the economy can also be calculated. Research by Sheffield Hallam University, supported by the R&A, in 2023 showed that the gross value added of the golf industry was £2.6 billion and that it brought £338 million to the UK economy in inward golf tourism, with consumer spending on golf being nearly £5 billion, and the industry employs nearly 64,000 people.

It would be remiss not to say that more should be done to make golf more diverse, and that is recognised by the R&A. As part of its drive for change, the R&A has launched the Women in Golf Charter, to attract more women, girls and families into the sport, and its #FOREeveryone campaign to develop a more inclusive culture within the golf industry. In order for women’s golf to continue growing, there needs to be greater airtime for women’s professional golf. Every sport needs visible role models—we only have to look at what has happened with women’s football following the success of the Lionesses. There are some signs of success. In 2020 in the UK, 25% more women tried golf for the first time during the pandemic, but in England the regular participation rate for men is still five times greater than that for women, and people from ethnically diverse backgrounds and deprived areas are also underrepresented.

Golf should be accessible for all. It is a game that can be enjoyed by people of all abilities and all ages because of its unique handicap system. It teaches decision-making skills and persistence, but above all it relies on honesty and integrity. I, too, would like to share a quote with the House that is used quite often when my professional daughter and son return from a round of golf. The late Bobby Jones said:

“Golf is the closest game to the game we call life. You get bad breaks from good shots; you get good breaks from bad shots—but you have to play the ball where it lies”.