Sydney is taking its place among the iconic marathon cities of the world, becoming just the seventh Abbott World Marathon Major alongside New York, London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago and Berlin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With the support of the NSW Government over a three-year candidacy and review period, the Sydney Marathon now joins the elite club of Abbott World Marathon Majors after international organisers announced their decision at the New York Marathon overnight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Sydney\u2019s new status is expected to drive a wave of international and interstate runners, along with familes, friends and event support crew to visit NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Sydney Marathon will become an instant bucket list event for thousands of runners across the globe who have already achieved the \u201csix star medal\u201d for completing all six major marathons \u2013 and thousands more who have been aiming for the same goal but will now want to add Sydney to their to-do list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Major status positions Sydney as the major events capital of the Asia Pacific and brings global spotlight, with other marathons being watched by an average global broadcast audience of 20 million viewers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Currently, all six Abbott World Marathon Majors are oversubscribed. For example, more than 840,000 people have applied to run in the London Marathon next year, with only about 55,000 places on offer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Destination NSW estimates an extra $73 million in visitor expenditure will be added to the NSW economy over the next three years as a result of Sydney Marathon\u2019s elevation. Over a decade, an extra $300 million will be added to the economy, with many visitors to Sydney taking the opportunity to visit regional NSW while in Australia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The elevation of the Sydney Marathon to major status has been made possible through a funding and strategic partnership with the NSW Government through Destination NSW. Government support was a requirement of the Abbott World Marathon Majors criteria and involves cross agency collaboration with Transport for NSW, Destination NSW, NSW Police and NSW Ambulance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The TCS Sydney Marathon cleared its final hurdle in September after three years of being judged against the assessment criteria of Abbott World Marathon Majors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There were 25,000 registered runners for the marathon that winds its way through the harbour city and finishes at the Sydney Opera House.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Participation in the Sydney Marathon has increased by 400% since 2022, from 5,000 entries to 25,000 in 2024. It is expected that 33,300 will greet the starter\u2019s gun in August 2025, rising to 37,800 in 2027.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ongoing support for the Sydney Marathon is part of the broader Minns Government plan to grow the NSW Visitor Economy to $91 billion in expenditure by 2035.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
New South Wales Premier Chris Minns said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n “We\u2019re thrilled Australia’s only global city, Sydney is now a member of the world majors club, following the great marathon cities of Boston, Chicago, New York, Berlin, Tokyo and London.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Achieving major marathon status is a huge honour and we are proud to be a funding and strategic partner of the Sydney Marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThese runners, their supporters and fans who come to watch will bring a huge boost to the local economy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have ambitious plans to boost the number of visitors in NSW and this event is another feather in our cap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNSW is an unbeatable hotspot for tourists across the globe and we look forward to welcoming them next year, providing a multi million dollar boost to the economy and an unforgettable experience for the runners on one of the most scenic marathon courses in the world.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Minister for Jobs and Tourism John Graham said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThey are the bucket list events that runners from across the world want to tick off. Now Sydney Marathon joins them at the starting line.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSydneysiders get behind a sporting event like no other city and we know more and more people will embrace the marathon whether that is aspiring to complete it or getting out to support those who do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cSydney Marathon 2025 will draw more visitors, but the NSW Government is just as excited by the economic boost this will provide over the long run as the status of the event grows.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI congratulate Sydney Marathon organisers and those who worked on its candidacy, backed by Destination NSW. This is a remarkable achievement.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Wayne Larden, race director of the TCS Sydney Marathon said:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cBecoming the 7th Abbott World Marathon Major is just incredible for the event, as well as for Sydney and NSW.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis amazing milestone is going to have a profound impact on running in Australia, inspiring the community to become a marathoner and do something special for themselves, their families and friends. Community health will benefit alongside a huge increase in fundraising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe are so excited to deliver the 2025 event as the 7th Abbott World Marathon Major and join the greatest marathon series and events on the planet!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe could not have achieved such incredible growth in competitors and uplift in delivery to make it into the World Majors if it wasn\u2019t for the support of the NSW Government through Destination NSW, and our partners TCS and ASICS. Our Pont3 team are first rate and have put in so much work to make this happen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Sydney is taking its place among the iconic marathon cities of the world, becoming just the seventh Abbott World Marathon Major alongside New York, London, Tokyo, Boston, Chicago and Berlin. With the support of the NSW Government over a three-year candidacy and review period, the Sydney Marathon now joins the elite club of Abbott World … Continue reading “The winner is Sydney! Our marathon is the next \u2018World Major\u2019”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-29921","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-nswnews"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29921","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29921"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29921\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":29922,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/29921\/revisions\/29922"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29921"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=29921"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=29921"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}