How staggering £8.5m public The Boat Race spending benefits local businesses and rowing clubs

A staggering 250,000 people are set to take to the banks of the Thames in London this weekend to watch The Boat Race between Oxford University and Cambridge University. A highlight of the rowing calendar, the race proves a favourite of rowing fanatics and the general public every year.

The varsity grudge match was first held in 1829 and has gotten bigger and bigger over the centuries. Now, The Boat Race is much more than simply what happens on the water between Putney and Mortlake.

For the food sellers, pubs, restaurants and boat clubs along that stretch of river, The Boat Race has become a huge day of business that drives money and much more. A 2017 study into the event found the total Boat Race spend to be a huge £8.5 million. With the event free to watch, that cash is injected into the businesses around the water.

Each Oxford and Cambridge athlete brings in £100k

Of the 250,000 spectators on the banks of the Thames, 80 per cent come from London boroughs with 20 per cent making the journey in from outside the capital - approximately 60,000 day visitors from further afield.   According to the study, with visitors spending on average £30 each during their day out, that equates to £100,000 for each one of the 72 athletes involved across the extended Boat Race events.

The research found that The Boat Race therefore generates 20 times more visitors per athlete than the London 2012 Olympic Games and a 40 per cent higher spend per athlete too.

Siobhan Cassidy, Chair of The Boat Race, told NationalWorld: "One of the great things about The Boat Race is it attracts so many people. It's a great day out for local people up and down the stretch in London but it also attracts many, many visitors to the event.

"It's free, so there are no barriers for people coming to join the event. We're really fortunate to work with the local boroughs, they are great partners. We are laying on a free-to-access public event for the community so we work with the councils to find areas to do that.

"We are bringing in spend on the day. You can choose to spend your money on the things you want to while enjoying a great day out. It's pretty unique now in sport to have a major event which is completely free to access. I've heard anecdotally that for some of the bars and restaurants around Boat Race day, it's one of their best days of the year because everyone turns out to come and watch."

Big pub bashes to celebrate The Boat Race

There are a handful of pubs that sit directly overlooking The Boat Race course whose terraces flood with visitors each year. One of those is The Crabtree between Hammersmith and Fulham, with the pub organising an annual event to celebrate the race.

This year, the pub is open from 11 am with live music from midday. Acoustic performances will give way for a brass band during the races and the night will climax with headliners Toploader. Around 100 staff are roped in for the day from across the Metropolitan Pub Company to help flog BBQ food, frozen margaritas, glitter face-paint and takeaway pints, along with the usual offerings.

Eleanor Warren, Sales & Events Executive, said: "We've done it every single year and taken it to the peak. There's only so much space within a pub and we've taken it to capacity so the only way I could think to be even bigger was to get a headliner this year.

"The atmosphere is electric. There are a lot of people and a lot of things going on. It gives the pub the chance to interact with not only Oxford and Cambridge but the local community with everyone being out on the street. Everybody who is anyone in Fulham is out. It's a really nice experience to be part of.

"We try and beat our targets every year. There's nothing else like it - it's one of these days that come out of nowhere. For a pub to be doing its normal week and then have something that will almost triple its takings in a day is pretty good."

As well as the financial boost, The Boat Race also excites staff with a scramble over shifts and a chance to get hands on a coveted event-specific hoodie. Eleanor added: "A lot of the people who work in the city come down and work it as well. It's quite nice because it's so busy and everyone wants to get involved.

"This kind of event costs a lot for us to put on but we want to spend it and give back, it's the day that we are known for and we want to make sure it's the best day that it is for our customers."

It's not just pubs and restaurants who lean on The Boat Race for a financial boost either. It's a huge day for rowing clubs on the Tideway with a chance to flog Pimm's from boathouses and recruit new members to the sport.

Financial and long-term benefits to local rowing clubs

Furnivall Sculling Club sits in a prime location at the halfway point in the race and the towpath is always heaving with people watching the race and spilling out from nearby pubs, as well as the Furnivall Gardens pop-up. That's a fantastic opportunity for the Boat Club to capitalise on.

Evelyn Tichy, Club Captain, said: "In terms of running costs of the club, if we take Women’s Eights Head of the River Race, Head of the River Race and The Boat Race, if it's a good year and good weather, we can make up to 10% of our running costs on those days. For the smaller clubs like us, it has a massive impact. We have an annual budget for buying boats and last year we added 50% of our takings to that. It could be half a boat... which is not cheap."

The money made from friendly faces serving passers-by at a makeshift stall is a huge boost but the opportunities for boat clubs such as Furnivall are even bigger. The Hammersmith club puts out a rowing machine to engage spectators and club members can introduce passers-by to the sport.

Evelyn explained: "It's an amazing club day. It's really positive and everyone has a great time. It also allows us to recruit and a longer-term relationship-building tool.

"Lots of clubs also have some sort of partnership with someone that comes that day, we've got a Cambridge college coming down who can have a reception upstairs together with us. That's a bit of a recruiting tool for university rowers to come through the pipeline. There are lots of indirect financial and strategic benefits again.

"On Boat Race day or the day after is when we get the most requests from people saying they want to learn to row. For a sport that can be inaccessible, being on television and having the ergo out front showing we can teach anyone to row, that aspect of it is incredible. For a club like Furnivall, that's part of our history. It's really important."

That's a responsibility felt by the team behind The Boat Race. Siobhan speaks of a 'huge sense of responsibility to show the sport in the best light' and echoes Evelyn's anecdote about Learn to Row courses selling out.

She said: "The rowing community is made up of really great, friendly, down-to-earth people who love getting their hands dirty and their feet wet.

"The opportunity to meet people like Evelyn, who is there with the ergo saying come and have a go, this is our sport. When you meet people who are friendly in a sport you don't know much about, that's where you get the community engagement. It's a great day for rowing as a sport."