Major events evaluation frameworks
Research and analysis to support the delivery and evaluation of major events.
This page provides resources to event organisers, central government and local authorities for evaluating the impact and legacy of major events, spanning cultural, sporting and business sectors.
Guidance and frameworks
The Green Book HM Treasury guidance on appraisal, the process of assessing the costs, benefits and risks of different options for achieving government objectives. This includes how to consider who receives the social benefits of a proposal and who bears the social costs.
The Magenta Book HM Treasury guidance on what to consider when designing an evaluation.
DCMS Monitoring and Evaluation Strategy 2026 to 2031 This DCMS strategy sets out how DCMS will work collaboratively and closely with its ALBs and ensure interventions are designed and adapted using monitoring and evaluation evidence.
Culture and Heritage Capital portal This page brings together research, guidance and estimates to help government and private organisations consider the value of culture and heritage capital. Culture and Heritage Capital aims to ensure the economic, social and cultural value of culture and heritage assets is included in appraisals and evaluations, including during social cost-benefit analysis. Guidance follows best practice guidance as set out by HM Treasury’s Green Book, and aims to support practitioners in fully evaluating and appraising assets.
Measuring the Legacy and Impact of Major Events: A Toolkit This guide sets out the suggested approaches to the legacy impact assessment of major events. It supports practitioners in planning and delivering their evaluation, while also providing background for those commissioning or utilising the findings from evaluations. The approaches are experimental, intended to be built upon and developed further by practitioners. Experimental test cases that showcase the advantages and limitations of these approaches are explained in an accompanying case studies report.
The Gold Framework (2023 Edition) Guidance on UK-level support available when bidding for and staging major sporting events.
UK Sport Major Events Investment Guide (2024) The purpose of this guide is to provide you with information on how to submit events for UK Sport’s consideration. If your event is a strategic priority for the UK, the guide also sets out the process to apply for National Lottery investment.
UK Sport Value of Events 2023 This report sets out how hosting 16 elite sporting events delivered far reaching benefits across the UK, enabled by investment from HM Government and National Lottery grants. The report illustrates how hosting major sporting events can make a significant economic, societal, reputational, sporting and environmental contribution to the entire UK.
VisitBritain Business Events Legacy and Impact Toolkit (2023) This toolkit is designed to assist Local Visitor Economy Partnerships to grow knowledge and understanding of legacy programmes for events, identify legacy opportunities, and understand the pathway for developing legacy projects.
DCMS and ALB research and evaluations
Evidence Review: UK City of Culture Programme DCMS commissioned the University of Warwick (Warwick Business School). The research provides an assessment of the outcomes and impacts of the UK CoC programme to date and its value for money.
Sport research and analysis This Gov.uk page provides a collection of Research and analysis to support and improve the development of sport policy, including the Evaluation of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Capturing engagement numbers for unticketed sporting and cultural events These reports set out an experimental data modelling framework for counting visitor numbers at unticketed events and locations, using combinations of mobile app, social media, physical activity, and aerial image data. They also explain how to approach shortlisting data sources for a particular event/location and building out this framework further, particularly in the accompanying toolkit.
London 2012 meta evaluation. This series of reports brings together all the documents relating to the London 2012 meta-evaluation.
External evaluations and research (not directly commissioned by DCMS)
Spirit of 2012 Evidence Bank Through a legacy learning partnership with Loughborough University, Spirit of 2012’s evidence bank remains accessible for event organisers. Their starter packs include information on improving event evaluation, designing inclusive events, creating long-term event legacies, and developing tailored event strategies for host cities and regions.
The Power of Events (Inquiry Report) Report on the findings from the Spirit of 2012 archive about the impact of events on social cohesion and connection.
Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Impact Report Highlights the key successes of the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025.
The World Rugby Impact Beyond 2025 - Global Impact Report Showcases the global legacy and early impact of the Impact Beyond 2025 programme. (TSC)
UEFA Champions League Final 2024 Impact Report Evaluates the economic and social impacts and the broader commercial reach and legacy of the 2024 UEFA Champions League Final (UCL Final) in London.
Rugby League World Cup England 2021 Looks at the approach to delivering the Rugby League World Cup 2021 and how the legacy and social impact of the event were leveraged. (Manchester Metropolitan University)
UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 post tournament flash report. Outlines the key initial impacts post tournament across six categories: operational success; growth of the professional game; physical exercise, sport and grassroots football participation; economic impact; social impact; and enhanced international reach. (Ernst and Young).
UEFA Women’s Championship 2022 post tournament report Outlines the key impacts measured post tournament, including developments in participation and interest in women’s football, as well as the longer-term legacy of UEFA Women’s EURO 2022 across football and wider society. (Ernst and Young, July 2023).
2019 UCI Road World Championships Social Impact Evaluation Evaluates the social impact and legacy of the event. (The Sport Industry Research Centre at Sheffield Hallam University)
UK City of Culture: Coventry Evaluation of the City of Culture 2021 by the University of Warwick.
UK City of Culture: Hull The University of Hull’s initial assessment of the outcomes of the Hull UK City of Culture 2017 programme across the following five key impact areas: arts and culture, place making, economy, society and wellbeing, and partnerships and development.
UK City of Culture: Derry-Londonderry Post project evaluation of the City of Culture 2013.
Bradford 2025 UK City of Culture Evaluation Strategy 2023 - 2026 This strategy outlines how Bradford Culture Company will demonstrate progress towards achieving the outputs, outcomes and impacts set out in their ‘Story of Change’ as the 2025 UK City of Culture. It describes the principles and approach to the monitoring and evaluation of the UK City of Culture programme and an overview of questions, indicators, data collection methods, resources and time frames.
Evaluation UNBOXED In line with the requirements for public spending set out in the HM Treasury Magenta Book, the Festival Company commissioned an independent evaluation of UNBOXED on behalf of itself and the four Government funders and the three Strategic Delivery Bodies.
Eurovision 2023: The Results Are In A narrative synthesis of the evidence from the Eurovision 2023 evaluation.
External toolkits
DCMS signposts these external toolkits to support early thinking on evaluation, rather than to advise that they must be followed in detail.
eventIMPACTS Toolkit The toolkit shows you how to monitor and evaluate the four main types of event impacts: social, economic, environmental & media, and provides a range of options for measuring and managing them. To help as many events as possible get started on evaluation, eventIMPACTS have focused primarily on methods of generating quantitative data that are relatively inexpensive and easy to implement.
OECD, 2023: How to measure the impact of culture, sports and business events This guide takes stock of the current advice, guidelines, and good practices for assessing the impact of global events. It provides an overview of approaches to impact assessment, discusses the issues, challenges and considerations to be made in conducting impact evaluations, and offers a set of actions which event hosts can take to improve impact assessments.
Major Sports Events: Impact for London 2024 Developed in partnership with Think Beyond, London’s impact-led methodology was a way to measure the individual and collective value major sports have brought to London.