Home / Weathering the “Summer of Sport”
3rd July 2026
Darcy MacMillan, Solicitor
The “Summer of Sport” is well underway and delivering a packed calendar of high-profile events from the football World Cup, cricket test matches and Wimbledon to the upcoming Commonwealth Games and the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham.
For organisers, venues and promoters, the “Summer of Sport” presents significant commercial opportunity, but selling tickets for live events such as this requires careful thought and preparation, particularly with the uncertainty of the British weather.
Focusing on live outdoor events, much can go wrong so what can businesses do to mitigate the risks?
Whether refunds need to be issued may depend on the reason the event ends early.
A refund is more likely to be expected where the event is abandoned because of bad or poor weather, particularly if a significant amount of play is lost, Wimbledon and cricket test matches just two examples of this. The position may be different where the event naturally finishes ahead of schedule, for example where a cricket test match finishes before the fifth day or a tennis player retires from a match injured.
In all cases, ticketing terms and conditions should be fair and transparent in line with consumer laws, setting out a clear refund policy and process for spectators to see at the time they purchase their tickets. Businesses are also recommended to tell spectators before tickets are bought that the event may not run as scheduled.
The “Summer of Sport” will see spectators visit from all over the world and in most cases travel and accommodation are independently arranged by the spectator.
Responsibility for an event may sit with several parties, such as the venue, the promoter, the ticket seller or a combination of these. However, if an event is cancelled or delayed, or if a spectator is not able to attend for any reason (e.g. transport strikes), the ticket seller or event host is not usually responsible for losses incurred in respect of independently booked travel or accommodation.
In most cases, any responsibility is likely to be limited to refunding the ticket price.
To avoid any doubt and to ensure the terms are transparent for spectators, express exclusion of responsibility for independently booked travel and accommodation should be provided for in the event terms and conditions.
Thousands of spectators queue each day, and even overnight, for on-the-door tickets to Wimbledon. This is in addition to the spectators who purchase tickets via the online ballot.
In most cases, there is no substantive difference between tickets purchased online or on-the-door in that the sale and purchase of the tickets creates a contract, and the attendee’s refund rights will depend on what was promised, what was delivered and the applicable ticketing terms, rather than the sales channel.
In practice, the process as to refunds may be more straightforward for on-the-door ticket sales, where tickets can be sold as non-refundable. Most on-the-door tickets are purchased on the day of the event, where possible eventualities of bad weather or event rescheduling / cancellation are more likely to be known or foreseeable.
Regardless of the chosen sales channel, spectators should be advised ahead of purchase of the terms and conditions and, if applicable, whether their tickets are non-refundable.
The “Summer of Sport” is an exciting period, particularly for the UK as host of two major sporting events: the Commonwealth Games and the European Athletics Championships.
As adverse weather has already affected both play and travel in the UK this summer, businesses should check their ticketing terms and conditions carefully to ensure that they are clear, fair and transparent on key issues such as weather disruption, refunds, and exclusions for independently booked travel and accommodation. Doing so should help to reduce uncertainty and support a smooth and successful outdoor event season.
If you need advice drafting your terms and conditions, please contact our commercial team at [email protected], or call on 0161 832 3434