At the beginning of the new year, the IFFHS (International Federation of Football History and Statistics) announced that Cristiano Ronaldo scored 54 goals and was elected the top scorer of the year in 2023, which also made fans look forward to Ronaldo's victory in Riyadh in China.
Since the official announcement of this China trip, it has repeatedly appeared on Weibo hot searches, and Ronaldo said that various warm-up videos such as Chinese have filled fans' enthusiasm for buying tickets. However, various chaos such as "Ronaldo does not support refunds for pre-sale of Ronaldo's trip to China" have also been complained about by fans.
Since Messi's arrival in China in June, more legendary stars have followed, and although it has satisfied the fans' desire to see their idols in person, it has also brought many problems.
Delve deeper into the stories behind commercial events, and we may be able to get some inspiration and food for thought.
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Text / Yang Yumeng
Editor / Guo Yang
Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi have come to the Greater Bay Area one after another, and the high ticket prices are difficult to stop the enthusiasm of fans
On December 17, the organizers of the Riyadh Victory China Tour officially announced that they will hold two "Glory Tour 2024 Riyadh Victory China Tour" matches in Shenzhen on January 24 and 28, 2024, and will face Shanghai Shenhua and Zhejiang teams respectively at the Shenzhen Universiade Center Stadium.
Source: @GST Glory Tour
Previously, a video made the news of Ronaldo's trip to China begin to ferment early. Krypton learned from official channels that the organizers of this China trip are Changxin Media and Yaoqi Sports.
One of the organizers of this event, Changxin Media, as a film and television media company, has created many popular TV series such as "Brave Heart" and "Tang Dynasty Legends", and has also held dozens of concerts for singers such as Jay Chou. According to previous articles written by Hong Kong media, hosting high-level sports events will become one of the main directions of Changxin Media in the future.
Industry insiders pointed out that Changxin Media has rich experience in ticket operation and event performances, which will be a great help to the Riyadh victory competition in China. The other organizer, Yaoqi Sports, has some experienced sports industry insiders, and the cooperation with Changxin Media can also be said to have played a complementary effect.
In this competition, Changxin Media also invited Zhang Yixing as a guest performer through its own advantages, and this form of event + performance is also considered by the industry to have the idea of creating a similar "Super Bowl halftime show", and judging from the hot search after the official announcement, it also played a role in the spread of the event.
According to Krypton, the single appearance fee of Riyadh in this game is about 11 million US dollars (80 million yuan), and the person in charge of a game ticketing company told Krypton, "This cost is usually not tax-included, if you add air tickets, hotels, venues, security, publicity, transportation, and opponent appearance fees, the total amount is not low." 」
Krypton also contacted the organizer Yaoqi Sports to ask about the appearance fee, but the organizer responded that "it involves confidential information and cannot be disclosed to the outside world." 」
Source: @张艺兴
Although there are many elements, some people in the industry are not optimistic about whether this commercial event can achieve the effect of Messi's visit to China in June.
According to the information of the ticketing platform, the ticket price of the two games is the same, divided into 6 grades, ranging from the lowest 380 yuan to the highest 4580 yuan. With the capacity of the Shenzhen Universiade Center, almost 50,000 tickets need to be sold, and the average price reaches about 2,000 yuan, so that the organizers can barely recover their costs.
"Cristiano Ronaldo is not a small heat, but the game time is not a good time, at that time, many people in Shenzhen have already gone home to prepare for the Chinese New Year. A person in the ticketing industry analyzed.
However, according to the pre-sale of tickets for the game on December 25, Ronaldo's appeal is very prominent - less than 1 minute after the ticket was opened, the tickets of 380 yuan and 880 yuan were quickly sold out; 2 minutes later, only 3880 yuan and 4580 yuan tickets were still available, and they were on sale for nearly an hour or so, and the ticket sales page showed that the six tickets were sold out. Tickets for this competition will also be officially opened on January 3, and Krypton will continue to pay attention to ticket sales.
Barley shows that tickets for the preliminaries of the tournament are selling out quickly
Not long ago, Messi's Miami International's Asian tour has also been officially announced, the first game will be to Hong Kong, China on February 4, against the all-star team of the Hong Kong First Division, and then on February 7 will face the J1 League champion Vissel Kobe at the National Stadium in Japan.
According to the ticketing website Klook, after the ticket was opened on December 15, the tickets for the match were sold out within 60 minutes, and then the highest price of the match tickets on the second-hand ticketing website exceeded 10,000 yuan each.
According to public information, the company that operates the Miami International Club to Hong Kong is Tatler Asia, which was founded in Switzerland in 1762 and is now a world-class multinational media group.
It can be seen from the organizer and cooperation model of Cristiano Ronaldo's competition in China that in today's sports market environment, more companies outside sports, especially those with rich experience in hosting concerts, have begun to actively participate in the hosting of sports commercial competitions.
In the near future, a sporting event will be more than just a game, but more like a big show and party for the whole family, and at the same time cover more of a tourist trip that integrates the local cultural characteristics. According to reports, hotels near the Shenzhen Universiade Center are basically full, and prices have also skyrocketed, with bookings nine times higher than the same period last year.
Source: @intermiamicf
The popularity of Messi Ronaldo's commercial matches has also made various organizations and institutions see business opportunities, and more legendary star events have begun to land in China.
The veteran game and the legend game continued one after another, and star activities became the core selling point
Among the active stars, the attraction of Messi and Ronaldo is, of course, the existence of the only one, and for fans, the retired stars are often the ones who represent their youthful memories.
In July this year, the trip to China of the three La Liga legends: Cassie, Morientes and Garcia kicked off the prelude to the arrival of the stars in China, which also gave the commercial competition between the legendary stars a chance to be implemented again after many years.
The first Legends Business Tournament to be held was the "2023 World Superstar Football Tournament" held in Wuhan, Hubei Province on November 26, 2023, which brought together nearly 40 stars from 13 countries, including Kaka, Baggio, Batistuta and Rivaldo.
Source: @新浪体育
The game also satisfied the enthusiasm of the audience, and the European Stars and the American Stars fought 5-5 in regulation time, and finally in the penalty shootout, the European Stars defeated the American Stars 6-5.
Krypton understands that in general, the personal appearance fee of a star is about 6-100,000 euros per day, and some people estimate that the cost of such a commercial event for a legendary player is about 30 million yuan.
According to the data released by Hubei Radio Advertising, the number of on-site viewers exceeded 30,000. The ticket price of the competition ranges from 380 yuan to 4680 yuan, divided into 8 grades, mainly in the range of 580-2080 yuan. This also means that the organizers basically cover the cost through ticket revenue.
Outside of the event, autograph sessions and meet-and-greets held by the stars after coming to China have become the focus of fans' expectations, and although the prices are high, all kinds of meet-and-greets are still in a state of hard to find. According to the pictures on the Internet, the price of Ronaldinho's meeting exceeded 10,000 yuan, and if you want to attend the dinner, the price will only be higher.
Messi went to Hong Kong to participate in the competition, and the organizer also held a meeting and dinner-related activities, Krypton learned that the price of wanting to participate in the dinner is 25,000 yuan per person, although there is still more than a month before the competition, but there are few places left. In addition, it is also rumored that the price of Ronaldo's meeting is 120,000 yuan. Of course, there are also many scams in the name of the meet-and-greet, and it is necessary to be more cautious about the purchase of such places.
For football fans, it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to get up close and personal with their favorite world-class star, or in an intimate space. The huge demand in the market is also one of the reasons why the organizers are happy to invite the stars to China.
Wuhan's success has naturally boosted the confidence of the organizers of the rest of the Legends Tournament, and the "Legend Football Match" hosted by Guochao Culture and Shanhai Culture will soon start in Chongqing, against the Barcelona Legends and IFDA (International Federation for Football Development) All-Star Team.
图源：国潮体育Sports
Krypton learned that the competition venue will land at the Longxing Professional Football Stadium in Chongqing, and the pricing is divided into 6 grades from 288 to 1288, which is slightly lower than the previous legendary match in Wuhan. As of press time, many grades of pre-sale tickets have not been sold out.
However, due to the difficulty in approving the venue and the unsatisfactory ticket sales of the organizers, there have been incidents similar to the failure of the Miami China tour, and some commercial events have been postponed or cancelled.
Among them, the "Return of the Legend" event, which was supposed to land in Wuhan in early October, was finally postponed due to "force majeure". Recently, the organizing committee of the event issued an announcement again, announcing that the "unsatisfactory ticket sales situation" was postponed again, and the "2023 Courageous Brother New Year's Eve Concert & Chinese New Year Special Invitation Football Match (Guigang Station)" originally scheduled to be held in Guigang City will also be postponed due to force majeure factors.
Source: Emperor Understand
Even the team with rich experience in hosting concerts has encountered some difficulties when dabbling in sports events, and a relevant person once told Krypton, "Although holding concerts and holding large-scale sports events look similar, they actually have different logic. 」
This is also similar to our previous analysis of the reasons for the cancellation of Messi's China trip, holding a sports event involving dozens of departments and hundreds of relevant responsible persons is not so simple.
What can commercial events bring?
Commercial events are a feast for fans and a business opportunity for practitioners, but the mixing of many commercial competitions has also triggered our thinking.
First of all, Ronaldo Messi and other commercial competitions are so hot, which is due to the super popularity of the two. At present, the battle between Messi and Ronaldo is not over. At the business level, the two continue to influence the entire industry and attract the attention of the world, and the competition between the two sides has entered the next stage since this visit to China. But there are doubts about whether commercial matches other than Ronaldo and Messi can reach similar heat.
For a commercial event to be successful, it's important to find the right position in the market. Reasonable ticket prices can not only attract fans to participate, but also ensure the economic benefits of the event and ensure the smooth running of the game. Excessively high ticket prices and repeatedly postponed events not only repeatedly erode the trust of fans, but also led to the loss of fans' enthusiasm for paying and even damaged the value of the event's IP.
@socceramerica
The Argentine team in June gave a World Cup-level performance at the Gongti, and the fans are certainly willing to pay for such a high-quality game again, rather than a dishonest "leek-cutting" game. Moreover, high-level competitions can also create an opportunity for fans to experience the charm of sports, not to mention, close contact on the spot, it is easier for fans to establish emotional connection with the team and stars, and form a fan culture with local characteristics.
Ultimately, this live-action atmosphere and interactivity can also inspire fans to become more Xi to attending stadiums, which not only ensures that commercial events are not just momentary excitement, but also a sustainable sports business.
You know, the event itself has a stimulating effect on the local economy and tourism. The fact that Miami International and Riyadh Victory have both landed in the Greater Bay Area is also related to the fact that the region is actively hosting various sports activities, after all, the Universiade in the Greater Bay Area is coming, and at the same time, in addition to business, the Greater Bay Area is also attracting more business opportunities and attracting more tourists through richer cultural and sports activities. Similarly, Wuhan and Chongqing are also leveraging greater tourism resources through such sports and cultural activities.
In general, almost all the commercial events held in 2023 have experienced twists and turns, but as more and more international competitions have landed in China, this series of experiences and processes has not only improved the professional level of the organizers in the field of sports, but also provided valuable experience for the hosting of local sports events.
For example, the Soccer Aid charity tournament held at Old Trafford in July was founded in 2006 to raise funds for UNICEF, which reportedly raised £14 million, reflecting the charity nature of football and the value of football in society.
Source: @SoccerAid
The arrival of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in China has opened a new stage of the business competition model, and it has also made the industry begin to think about whether the essence of the business competition is a "competition" or a "performance", and we will continue to pay attention to the development of this field in the future.
Of course, we are looking forward to more, better and more standardized sports events to land in China. We also hope that football can be more than just football, but also create greater value and meaning.