Who Scores from Hosting Sports Events? Local Spending Effects of the EURO 2024

Hosting mega-sports events generates optimistic projections of economic benefits, yet empirical evidence on actual local returns remains mixed. Focusing on the UEFA EURO 2024 in Germany, this paper provides causal evidence on the short-term local consumption effects of hosting mega-events. We leverage anonymized daily card spending data at the postcode level to measure changes in consumer spending. Using a difference-in-differences and a local projection framework, we document a statistically significant and economically meaningful 3% increase in consumer spending in host cities during the tournament. This effect is driven entirely by international visitors, whose spending increases by more than 6%, and is concentrated in the group stage and on match days. Domestic spending does not change on aggregate, but exhibits spatial displacement. The gains are highly concentrated in city centers and tourist-facing sectors. Overall, our findings provide policymakers with highly granular evidence on the localized economic effects of mega-sports events, highlighting how temporary demand shocks reshape intra-urban consumption patterns and concentrate gains in central, tourism-oriented areas.