Sporting Events Bill [HL]

Baroness Gill Excerpts

2nd reading
Wednesday 3rd June 2026 Lords Chamber

[Baroness Gill (Lab)]

My Lords, today marks a critical milestone in the preservation and elevation of our country’s status as a leading host of major sporting events. We are embarking on a golden decade of sport, from the roar that will greet the 2028 UEFA European Football Championship to our ambitious bid for the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup, on to a potential 2040 Olympic bid for the north of England. This Government are readying the United Kingdom to show the world that we are the ultimate home of global sport.

For decades, this nation has welcomed global sporting fans with open arms, providing the stage for moments of historic athletic achievement that have inspired generations, promoted healthy living and driven economic growth into our local communities. This Sporting Events Bill also directly delivers on the Government’s manifesto promise to bring these high-profile international events to our shores. By creating a permanent streamlined framework, it signals to international sports bodies that the UK is permanently open for business, operationally secure and ready to build a legacy.

I warmly welcome the fact that the Bill explicitly puts fans first. If I may indulge your Lordships’ House, as I stand in this Chamber today, I am struck by a profound sense of personal history. I rise today, as I rose for the very first time in the European Parliament, back at the turn of the millennium, as a member of the Friends of Football group. More than a quarter of a century ago, I stood up in Brussels to sound the alarm about ordinary football fans losing out from attending matches because of opaque, predatory ticketing practices.

Because of that history, I am heartened to see the mechanisms within this Bill. Under Clause 1, the Secretary of State can designate qualifying events, unlocking the enforcement powers we desperately need. Most crucially, Clause 2 sets up a robust, UK-wide criminal offence targeting the unauthorised resale of tickets. This is an essential step forward. We have all seen the grotesque excesses of the secondary black market. During the 2022 Champions League final, standard category tickets with a face value of £60 were being resold online for over £9,000—a staggering one-hundred and fiftyfold mark-up that completely locks out genuine, ordinary supporters. Even in our domestic game, tickets for regular Premier League final-day fixtures routinely skyrocket by 1,000% on predatory secondary platforms within minutes of selling out. This is not a free market; it is extortion.

However, while I fully support the architecture of the Bill, it is the duty of this House to think creatively. If we are to successfully enforce Clause 2, we must back it up with total market transparency at the primary point of sale. If we truly want to protect fans, they must know exactly what they are paying for. I must therefore press the Minister on some fundamental questions about transparency that this text currently omits. Why does the Bill not explicitly mandate that the original, fixed face-value price be permanently, visibly and immutably displayed on the face of every single digital and physical ticket issued for qualifying events? How can a fan easily spot an illegal secondary mark-up under Clause 2 if the baseline price is obscured behind shifting digital platforms? How can consumers make informed choices when hidden platform fees, processing mark-ups and shifting price points are obscured from view until the very final click? Why have the Government omitted a ban on dynamic pricing—the corporate euphemism for legalised primary touting, as my noble friends Lord Mann and Lord Bassam so eloquently highlighted—whereby prices skyrocket mid-transaction simply because a fan is waiting in an online queue?

That brings me to a significant omission in the scope of this legislation. Although the Bill beautifully safeguards international tournaments, it is a great pity that its protections do not extend to our everyday domestic sporting fixtures or world-renowned live music events. A fan being ripped off for a cup final or a grass-roots local derby deserves the same statutory shield as an executive sitting watching a Euro 2028 match. Similarly, a young music lover trying to buy a ticket to see their favourite band at a local arena faces the exact same automated harvest bots and predatory pricing platforms. Live music and domestic sport are the lifeblood of British culture; leaving them exposed feels like a missed opportunity to create a truly comprehensive consumer protection standard.

Further, while Clause 5 provides necessary enforcement powers to local authorities and police to stamp out illicit trading, we must connect these grand international events back to the communities that host them. A major tournament should not be an island of corporate wealth. The financial success of these global events must directly feed down into our local youth clubs and grass-roots sports facilities, as stressed by my noble friends Lady Paul and Lady Dacres. Our local clubs are where the next generation of athletic talent is discovered. They are where healthy living is fostered and community cohesion is built. I want to ensure that the regulatory framework we are debating today explicitly guarantees that a percentage of tournament revenues is funnelled directly into sustaining these vital community assets.

This Bill has the potential to be historic legislation. It honours a vital commitment, cuts through needless red tape and guarantees our sporting future. I do not wish to delay this legislation, but I do urge the Minister to take another look at some of the specific areas I mentioned earlier. Let us work together to expand our horizons, think outside the box and use this opportunity to shine a light on pricing, protect the wider cultural economy and ensure that local fans and grass-roots communities remain the beating heart of British sport. I commend this Bill to the House.