Richmond 2015, Inc., the organizing committee of the 2015 UCI Road World Championships, concluded nine days of racing Sunday with huge crowds and exhilarating racing.
“Over the past 10 days, starting with our Opening Ceremonies, we have witnessed something special,” said Wilson Flohr, CEO of Richmond 2015, Inc. “Our beautiful region was showcased to hundreds of millions of viewers around the globe, and fans from Richmond and all over the state, country and world lined our streets in celebration of the World Championships and our region.
“We are grateful to the community for believing in us and very thankful to all our partners, sponsors, volunteers and fans – both experts and those new to the sport – for helping us deliver a spectacular World Championships.”
Added Richmond Mayor Dwight C. Jones, “I’m extremely proud of the way the Richmond region pulled together in welcoming the world to our doorstep and showcasing our community globally. A truly remarkable series of championship races was topped only by the excitement and enthusiasm shared by hundreds of thousands of spectators who saw the very best of what Richmond has to offer.”
Richmond 2015’s preliminary estimate for attendance beginning with Opening Ceremonies on Friday, Sept. 18, is approximately 645,000 onsite spectators for the 10 days of the event. Onsite spectators represent fans over the entirety of the event whether they attended one day or multiple days of the event, rather than unique individuals. Official attendance figures and local economic impact numbers will be announced at a later date.
Viewers in 150 countries watched this year’s UCI Road World Championships on TV. More than 40 TV partners, including 17 TV networks broadcasting live from Richmond, produced more than 800 hours of original Worlds programming.