How Pokémon generated nearly £12 million for the city of Liverpool

The impact of Pokémon on Liverpool “cannot be underestimated” as players from around the country descended on the city last year to catch ‘em all.

Almost £12 million was generated by a Pokémon GO weekend event at Sefton Park during October according to Liverpool Council as more than 20,000 enthusiasts came to the city to play the popular mobile game.

Claire McColgan, assistant director, Culture Liverpool and director of neighbourhoods, said the event put the global spotlight on Liverpool through social media.

“People came from all over the country with their phones and the social media from that went all around the world about Liverpool,” she said.

“What it did for the city in terms of a completely different audience cannot be underestimated and I think that’s really key.”

The financial figures

A report to councillors detailed that the two-day Pokémon GO event at Sefton Park had an economic impact of £11.9 million for the city, including £4.7 million on accommodation, food and drink and operating costs of hosts Niantic.

Almost £4 million was also made through indirect expenditure with almost half of the visitors stating they would come back to Liverpool within 12 months.

What is Pokémon GO?

Pokémon GO is an augmented reality video game, where players or ‘Trainers’ use mobile phones to locate virtual creatures, called Pokémon, which appear as if they are in the player’s real-world location.

Those taking part will then capture, battle and train the virtual creatures with other players around them.

The sold-out ‘Pokémon GO Safari Zone’ event in Sefton Park was rearranged from its initial postponement in 2020 and was the first Pokemon event of its kind globally since 2019.

The augmented reality game connects people from all over the world and has been a huge success since its release in 2016 with more than one billion downloads.

Pokémon GO Safari Zone has been hosted in various countries across the world since 2017, including the USA, Germany and Japan.