How Magic Weekend crowd compares to every previous event as grim record set
A general view of Elland Road taken ahead of day two at Magic Weekend in 2024
2024’s Magic Weekend is officially the second-lowest ever attended edition of the event, with day two producing the lowest Sunday crowd the annual occasion has ever seen.
Since Elland Road was confirmed as the event’s destination for 2024 back in November, there has been doubts over how successful it would be, with many very much adopting a negative frame of mind around the decision.
At the start of this week, RL Commercial chief Rhodri Jones told LoveRugbyLeague they expected over 50,000 to be in attendance at Elland Road over the course of the weekend, with Saturday to be busier than Sunday as usual.
That has been the case, with just 22,293 in attendance on Sunday – the smallest single-day crowd recorded in the 17 years the event has been running.
50,000 was surpassed though – with the 30,810 that came through the doors on Saturday doing the heavy lifting.
Overall Magic Weekend attendance ranking
Magic Weekend has ran annually since 2007, with the only exception being 2020, when the event was cancelled due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Accordingly, 2024 is its 17th edition – and Elland Road is its sixth different venue after the Millennium Stadium (Cardiff), Murrayfield (Edinburgh), the Etihad Stadium (Manchester), St James’ Park (Newcastle) and Anfield (Liverpool).
Below is a look at exactly where that figure ranks compared to previous overall attendances at the event…
Ranked from lowest to highest:
17. 52,043 – Edinburgh 2010
16. 53,103 – Leeds 2024
15. 56,869 – Liverpool 2019
14. 58,831 – Cardiff 2007
13. 59,749 – Edinburgh 2009
12. 60,214 – Cardiff 2011
11. 60,866 – Newcastle 2021
10. 62,042 – Manchester 2013
9. 62,154 – Newcastle 2022
8. 63,144 – Cardiff 2008
7. 63,312 – Newcastle 2023
6. 63,716 – Manchester 2012
5. 64,319 – Newcastle 2018
4. 64,552 – Manchester 2014
3. 65,407 – Newcastle 2017
2. 67,841 – Newcastle 2015
1. 68,276 – Newcastle 2016
LRL RECOMMENDS: Magic Weekend could head to Nottingham as three new venues considered for 2025
Sundays at Magic Weekend ranked
And here is a look at just how poor Sunday’s attendance was compared to previous years.
Over 3,000 less were in attendance at Elland Road on Sunday than at St James’ Park on the Sunday in 2022, which previously held the record low.
Ranked from lowest to highest:
17. 22,293 – Leeds 2024
16. 25,333 – Newcastle 2022
15. 25,401 – Edinburgh 2010
14. 25,438 – Newcastle 2018
13. 25,762 – Newcastle 2021
12. 26,369 – Newcastle 2023
11. 26,447 – Cardiff 2007
10. 26,812 – Liverpool 2019
9. 26,970 – Newcastle 2015
8. 28,213 – Manchester 2014
7. 28,945 – Newcastle 2016
6. 29,323 – Cardiff 2011
5. 30,046 – Newcastle 2017
4. 30,122 – Edinburgh 2009
3. 31,249 – Manchester 2013
2. 32,516 – Cardiff 2008
1. 32,953 – Manchester 2012
LRL RECOMMENDS: How Magic Weekend Day 1 crowd compared to every Saturday in event’s history
