Sport at a Crossroads: Growth, Relevance and Human Value

Sport is entering its next phase of growth at a moment of genuine contradiction. Research shows strong confidence in sport’s commercial and cultural future, yet this momentum is unfolding amid rising costs, geopolitical instability, AI acceleration, and pressure to prove social value.

This session examines the risk hidden inside sport’s success: growth built on scarcity rather than inclusion. If sport becomes exclusive, it doesn’t just lose fans – it risks losing cultural relevance, its licence to lead and its long-term growth engine.

In the AI era, its defensible advantage is human experience at scale – real presence, real emotion, real community, real stakes. This session explores how leaders can protect that advantage and build a new growth model

• How do rising costs and exclusivity threaten sport's long-term relevance, and what can leaders do about it?
• Where should sport draw the line on AI to protect the human experience that makes it irreplaceable?
• How can purpose-led partnerships between brands, rights holders and the public sector deliver both commercial return and genuine societal impact?