The City of Hobart is ready to host the world

Published on 29 September 2022

The eyes of the world will turn to southern Tasmania when Hobart hosts a swag of matches of the 2022 International Cricket Council World Cup from October 17.

It is the biggest broadcast event in Australia this year, predicted to reach 1.8 billion live TV viewers worldwide across 112 broadcast markets and – when combined with digital clips and social media across all platforms – has a total audience of 7.3 billion people.

Tasmania has sold more than 30 per cent of tickets to overseas visitors – the highest proportion of international ticket holders across the tournament host cities.

This will result in a significant economic benefit to Hobart’s tourism, hospitality and accommodation businesses.

But perhaps the biggest beneficiary of Bellerive Oval hosting nine games could be the children of Tasmania.

The state has cricket’s highest participation growth for five to 12-year-olds in the country and being part of such a huge tournament will only help find the next generation of Hobart Hurricanes stars like Matthew Wade, Tim David, Elyse Villani or Amy Smith.

Hobart Lord Mayor Anna Reynolds said to have teams and supporters from the West Indies, Scotland, Ireland, Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka and South Africa in our city – plus potentially others depending on results – was a great privilege.

“We warmly welcome all those players and fans from across the world to our beautiful city and wish you well in your endeavours throughout the tournament,” Cr Reynolds said.

“Such tournaments bring significant impacts on businesses in the tourism and hospitality sectors, and project our city and state around the world, but also provide inspiration to Tasmanian children by having some of the world’s best players performing right here in front of them in their home state.”

She urged locals to adopt a team when the tournament was in Hobart and to get along and support their new side.

ICC men’s T20 World Cup 2022 local organising committee chief executive Michelle Enright said the people of Hobart would not want to miss out on this tournament.

"The ICC Men's T20 World Cup is one of the biggest sporting events on the planet by the number of people around the world that tune in, so it's an exciting opportunity with our borders open to showcase Australia and it's world class venues across four weeks of incredible cricket," Ms Enright said.

“We saw both at the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2015 and in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup in 2020, the power of major events to unite people and communities through sport and we can’t wait to bring people of all ages and backgrounds together for a celebration of cricket, culture and entertainment."

Fans can also get up close to the central piece of the event – the ICC T20 World Cup trophy.

It will be on display at the capital’s iconic Salamanca Market on Saturday, October 1, from 9am to 2pm and cricket fans of all ages can partake in a host of cricket activities and games on the Salamanca lawns.

The City of Hobart will activate the waterfront and surrounds to promote the tournament and host a giant virtual cricket game at the Brooke Street Pier.

Ferries will also run from Hobart to Clarence throughout the tournament.