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World Snooker Championships

Sheffield City Council

This public procurement record has 2 releases in its history.

Award

17 Jul 2026 at 17:20

UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Award

09 Jul 2026 at 13:27

UK5 - Transparency Notice
Summary of the contracting process

Sheffield City Council has procured the hosting and delivery of the World Snooker Championship in Sheffield. The requirement covers the official championship as part of the World Snooker Tour, including its organisation, staging, promotion, sporting administration, player participation, competition rules, media and broadcast rights, sponsorship, hospitality, licensing, official partnerships, venue and host-city arrangements. It also encompasses the wider Crucible theatre redevelopment associated with staging the championship, supporting cultural, regeneration and community objectives in Sheffield and the surrounding city region. This is a sporting services requirement, classified under CPV 92600000. World Snooker Limited is the selected supplier and is responsible for the exclusive commercial, operational, media and sporting rights connected with the championship.

The procurement is complete and was awarded on 17 July 2026, although the award is recorded as pending and the contract was due for signature on 30 July 2026. Sheffield City Council used a direct award under the Procurement Act 2023, relying on World Snooker Limited’s intellectual property and exclusive rights. The award value is £88,890,000 excluding VAT and £106,668,000 including VAT. The contract period runs from 30 July 2026 to 28 July 2045, with a possible mutually agreed five-year extension to 29 July 2050. The standstill period ends on 29 July 2026. There is one completed lot. The award is above threshold and covers services delivered in Sheffield, United Kingdom.

This outcome identifies a specialist, high-profile requirement centred on professional sporting event ownership, promotion and delivery rather than a conventional open competition for event suppliers. The selected organisation is a large commercial sports operator with exclusive control of the World Snooker Tour and the championship’s sporting, player, media, broadcast, sponsorship, hospitality, licensing, venue and hosting rights. A credible competitor for any future requirement connected with this buyer would therefore need demonstrable experience in staging major professional sporting events, managing athletes and competition rules, securing and exploiting media and commercial rights, and coordinating venues, partners and stakeholders. Relevant capability in venue redevelopment, cultural regeneration, community impact and commercial revenue generation would also be important where the requirement includes the wider Crucible investment and Sheffield’s regional economic objectives.

How relevant is this notice?

Notice Information

Notice Title

World Snooker Championships

Notice Description

Single supplier - intellectual property or exclusive rights The Authority relies upon section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 (the "Act") and paragraph 5 to Schedule 5 of the Act in respect of a direct award justification. World Snooker Limited ("WSL") is the exclusive commercial owner, organiser, promoter and operator of the World Snooker Tour ("WST"), which includes the World Snooker Championship (the "Championship"). WSL exclusively controls and/or administers the sporting, commercial, operational and media exploitation rights connected with the Championship. WSL maintains these rights either directly or pursuant to rights granted by and/or arrangements with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Limited. WSL exclusively controls the following rights and functions relating to the Championship. WSL has the exclusive right to: * organise, stage and promote the official Championship as part of the official WST calendar; * sanction the Championship as an official professional ranking tournament forming part of the WST structure; * determine and administer the sporting format, qualification structure, player participation criteria and competition rules relating to the Championship; * contract with participating professional players and regulate player participation in the Championship; * negotiate, grant and exploit all domestic and international media, broadcast, streaming and related rights connected with the Championship; * negotiate, grant and exploit sponsorship, hospitality, licensing and other commercial rights connected with the Championship; * appoint official partners, suppliers and stakeholders connected with the Event; * determine the venues and host cities at which the Event may be staged; and * grant host city and hosting rights relating to the Event. The Authority has undertaken comprehensive, independent analysis on the extent to which there are / are not reasonable alternatives to the arrangement that WSL can deliver. The Authority has concluded that there are no reasonable alternatives capable of delivering the Championship (or an equivalent rights package to the Authority). The estimated contract value includes the PS45,000,000 planned investment in the Crucible that will be made in order to expand, modernise and upgrade the theatre, the venue at which the Championship will be held under the proposed Agreement. The redevelopment is expected to be funded from a combination of public grant funding and private philanthropic donations. Although the redevelopment funding is included in the estimated contract value, it is a wider capital investment serving cultural, regeneration and community objectives for Sheffield and the wider city region. It is not being undertaken solely for the benefit of WSL or solely to secure the World Snooker Championship. The contract value is a gross figure that does not reflect any income generated for the benefit of the Council and the city region as a result of the Championship being held in Sheffield. The contract creates a route for the Council to generate significant revenues via a range of commercial initiatives which will reduce the net investment made by the Council. The contract will also generate significant wider economic benefits for the City of Sheffield and the surrounding region.

Procurement Information

The Authority relies upon section 41 of the Procurement Act 2023 (the "Act") and paragraph 5 to Schedule 5 of the Act in respect of a direct award justification. World Snooker Limited ("WSL") is the exclusive commercial owner, organiser, promoter and operator of the World Snooker Tour ("WST"), which includes the World Snooker Championship (the "Championship"). WSL exclusively controls and/or administers the sporting, commercial, operational and media exploitation rights connected with the Championship. WSL maintains these rights either directly or pursuant to rights granted by and/or arrangements with the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association Limited. WSL exclusively controls the following rights and functions relating to the Championship. WSL has the exclusive right to: * organise, stage and promote the official Championship as part of the official WST calendar; * sanction the Championship as an official professional ranking tournament forming part of the WST structure; * determine and administer the sporting format, qualification structure, player participation criteria and competition rules relating to the Championship; * contract with participating professional players and regulate player participation in the Championship; * negotiate, grant and exploit all domestic and international media, broadcast, streaming and related rights connected with the Championship; * negotiate, grant and exploit sponsorship, hospitality, licensing and other commercial rights connected with the Championship; * appoint official partners, suppliers and stakeholders connected with the Event; * determine the venues and host cities at which the Event may be staged; and * grant host city and hosting rights relating to the Event. The Authority has undertaken comprehensive, independent analysis on the extent to which there are / are not reasonable alternatives to the arrangement that WSL can deliver. The Authority has concluded that there are no reasonable alternatives capable of delivering the Championship (or an equivalent rights package to the Authority). The contract value is above threshold. The Council is still in negotiations with WSL and the contract value shall be included in the Contract Award Notice.

Notice Details

Publication & Lifecycle

Open Contracting ID
ocds-h6vhtk-06c783
Publication Source
Find A Tender Service
Latest Notice
https://www.find-tender.service.gov.uk/Notice/067998-2026
Current Stage
Award
All Stages
Award

Procurement Classification

Notice Type
UK6 - Contract Award Notice
Procurement Type
Standard
Procurement Category
Services
Procurement Method
Direct
Procurement Method Details
Direct award
Tender Suitability
Not specified
Awardee Scale
Large

Common Procurement Vocabulary (CPV)

CPV Divisions

92 - Recreational, cultural and sporting services

CPV Codes

92600000 - Sporting services

Notice Value(s)

Tender Value
Not specified
Lots Value
Not specified
Awards Value
£88,890,000 £10M-£100M
Contracts Value
Not specified

Notice Dates

Publication Date
17 Jul 20262 months ago
Submission Deadline
Not specified
Future Notice Date
Not specified
Award Date
17 Jul 20262 months ago
Contract Period
30 Jul 2026 - 29 Jul 2045 Over 5 years
Recurrence
Not specified

Notice Status

Tender Status
Complete
Lots Status
Complete
Awards Status
Pending
Contracts Status
Not Specified

Buyer & Supplier

Contracting Authority (Buyer)

Main Buyer
Sheffield City Council
Contact Name
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Email
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →
Contact Phone
Available with D3 Tenders Premium →

Buyer Location

Locality
SHEFFIELD
Postcode
S1 2HH
Postcode Area
Sheffield
Country
England
Major Region (ITL 1)
TLE Yorkshire and The Humber
Basic Region (ITL 2)
TLE3 South Yorkshire
Small Region (ITL 3)
TLE32 Sheffield
Delivery Location
Not specified
Local Authority
Sheffield
Electoral Ward
City
Westminster Constituency
Sheffield Central

Supplier Information

Number of Suppliers
1
Supplier Name

World Snooker Limited

Further Information

Notice Documents

Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS)

View full OCDS Record for this contracting process

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The Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) is a framework designed to increase transparency and access to public procurement data in the public sector. It is widely used by governments and organisations worldwide to report on procurement processes and contracts.

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