Ranking Sports Events: Top 10 Biggest Sports Events Of All Time

Ever thought about the biggest events in the history of sports? In the versatile world of sports, numerous massive events stand out and make you think about how anticipated the event must have been before it occurred. In the following article, we’ll go through a list of the top ten biggest sports events of all time!

Whether it is the Paralympics or the NBA finals, this article contains some of the largest sporting events that have happened or have happened before. So, without further ado, here are the top 10 biggest sports events of all time.

1.   The Paralympics

Starting in 1948, in London’s Olympic Games, the first organized competition for wheelchair athletes was named the Stoke Mandeville Games. It was a milestone in Paralympic history and involved several injured servicemen and women.

The Games later became the Paralympic Games which first took place in Italy in 1960, featuring 400 athletes from 23 nationalities. They have taken place every 4 years ever since.

The most recent Paralympic Games were held in Beijing in 2022, and they were watched by over 4.25 billion viewers, surpassing several big events over the years!

2.               The FIFA World Cup

The biggest and most anticipated event in the soccer world is the FIFA World Cup, which is held every 4 years worldwide! Since its inauguration in 1930, the championship has seen many countries lift the trophy. France won the most recent FIFA world cup held in 2018 in Russia.

With over 3.3 billion viewers worldwide, the FIFA World cup ranks second in our list of the top 10 biggest sporting events of all time.

3.               The Cricket World Cup

One of the fastest-growing sports globally, Cricket has seen its fair share of huge sporting events and comes third on our list. Amassing over 2.5 billion fans all over the globe, it is the national sport of England. Thought to have been originated in south-east England, the first reference to cricket being played as a sport was in 1611.

It has two different formats of the World cup, including a Twenty20 version and a One Day International version. The ODI World Cup had vast spectatorship of approximately 2.6 billion from all over the world.

4.               Summer Games

The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Games of the Olympiad, started back in 1896 in the city of Greece. They were most recently held in 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, and were watched by over 2.2 billion people worldwide.

The Summer Olympics have been hosted on five continents by nineteen countries and contain around 42 different sports. The next Summer Games will be held in 2024 in Paris, France.

5.               Winter Games

The winter equivalent of the Summer Games, the Winter Olympic Games, was inspired by the ancient Olympic Games held in Olympia. The first five original sports in the winter Olympics were bobsleigh, curling, ice hockey, Nordic skiing, and skating.

Like its summer counterpart, the viewership of the winter Olympics is slightly north of 2 billion, with the most recent games being held in Tokyo, Japan.

6.               The Olympics

In 1896, the first modern Olympic Games happened in Athens and have since grown so much that nearly every nation is participating. The Olympics provide the perfect opportunity for countries to showcase themselves and promote tourism.

One of the largest sporting events, the Olympics are watched by over 1.92 billion people across the globe, making it the 6th most-watched sporting event on our list.

7.               Fight of the Century – Boxing

The greatest event in boxing history is the “Fight of the Century,” fought between legendary boxers Joe Frazier and Mohammed Ali. It was often regarded as the greatest fight ever as it was the first time two undefeated boxers went head-to-head for the heavyweight title.

The fight was viewed by over 300 million people worldwide and remained one of the most anticipated boxing, nay, sporting events of all time. Two more fights followed the event, both with more viewership than the last.

8.               UEFA Champions League

The second biggest competition in soccer is played between football clubs instead of countries; the UEFA Champions League is one of the most anticipated competitions of the year. Formerly known as the European Cup, it was later renamed in 1992 to the UEFA Champions League for inclusivity.

Starting with 32 teams, the competition slowly progresses until the final, where one champion prevails. Most competitions are won by Real Madrid CF, who have won 13 titles. The UCL has a viewership of around 380 million people.

9.               Super Bowl

The Super Bowl is the annual playoff championship game of the National Football League. It is considered the final game of every NFL season. It is a competition of American Football, and the winning team takes home the Vince Lombardi trophy. The Super Bowl is an event that occurs solely in the United States of America and garners huge crowds.

The most recent Super Bowl was played in February 2022, won by the Los Angeles Rams.

With a viewership of almost 100 million people across the U.S, it comes on the ninth spot on our top ten list.

10.         NBA Finals

The NBA Finals are the annual championship series of the National Basketball Association, and the team that wins the series is awarded the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy. Formerly known as the BAA Finals, the championship was renamed to NBA after merging with the NBL.

More popular in the U.S, the NBA Finals attract over 16 million people and rank last on our top 10 biggest sporting events of all time.

Final Words

So, there we go! These were the top 10 biggest sports events of all time, comprised of events ranging from a plethora of different sports, whether Boxing or Football, Cricket or Basketball. We hope that the article was informative and intriguing enough for you to want to read more, but alas, that’s all for today. Have a great day!