The Power of the LEC: Summer Playoffs generated $5 million for Malmö economy
Reading time: 4 minutes
The new LEC season in underway, and in a slightly new format including the first ever LEC Winter season
There’s so much to get excited about this year, especially off the back of League of Legends returning to live in person events last year.
And for those looking at hosting events in esports, they should look back to the LEC Summer Playoffs in Malmö, Sweden last year which weren’t only a success for the esports scene, but for the city’s economy.
Alastair Pusinelli
Published on January 25th, 2023
In this Insight:
Magic in Malmö
The live summer Playoffs took place over two days at the Malmö Arena, with an accompanying expo helping the fans get warmed up on each day. This featured Q&A sessions with industry experts, quizzes, cosplay runways and branded activation areas.
With this being the first LEC stadium show in three years, a big crowd was expected, but even Riot Games could not have expected the overwhelming support in Malmö.
The Malmö Arena was a sell out for the final, with its capacity being increased by 7,000 to 19,600, with the audience coming from over 30 countries.
Pehr Palm, CEO of Event in Skåne said: “LEC is a reason for travel that targets a clear target group and strengthens and develops Skåne (Malmö’s county) as an esports and event destination.”
Big W
More than 50% of fans were from outside of Sweden, with 75% of spectators staying in Malmö during the event, boosting the city’s economy by more than SEK 50 million (c. $5 million).
Alberto Guerrero, Director of EMEA Esports at Riot Games said: “The LEC continues to be Europe's leading esports brand, consistently setting the industry standard for both broadcast and live in-arena shows.
“We continue to ensure that our live finals events not only provide an incredible experience for fans, but provide value both financially and culturally to our partner cities that help bring these events to life.
“We look forward to continuing to bring our live shows to fans across the EMEA region and working with our incredible partner cities to replicate the success we saw in Malmö and put League esports on the map across our region.”
This year’s LEC Summer Playoffs being held at the 14,000 capacity Sud de France Arena in Montpellier, France, held over August and September.
The study was provided by Geelmuyden Kiese on behalf of the city of Malmö.
“We look forward to continuing to bring our live shows to fans across the EMEA region and working with our incredible partner cities to replicate the success we saw in Malmö and put League esports on the map across our region.”
Alberto Guerrero, Director of EMEA Esports at Riot Games
Impacting Gen Z
Of course that just covers the feet on the ground in Malmö, with the LEC reaching far beyond the local region.
The final of the Summer Playoffs obtained peak viewership of 732,573 making it one of the biggest esports events in Europe in 2022.
And the LEC is an exceptional platform for brands, with KitKat receiving 766 hours of exposure during the 2021 LEC Spring Season, offering a media value of almost €11 million.
For advertisers, gaming is approaching the status of sports such as football and Formula 1, even without a presence on the traditional medium of TV, KitKat reached millions of viewers in its target audience via livestreams on Twitch and YouTube. Further reach was generated through social media channels and collaborations with gaming influencers.
