The city of Zurich needs to cover up for cycling World Championships organizers' debt as the event concluded with a multi-million loss

The World Cycling Championships (from 22 to 29 September 2024) in Zurich brought in around 19.7 million euros, but 24.3 million euros were spent on organising the event. A simple calculation shows that there is now a deficit of €4.6 million.

The organization does have some explanations for the bad figures. For example, there was a lot of fuss in Zurich about the roads that had to be closed for the world championships. The resulting controversy is said to have scared off potential sponsors. Furthermore, the income from catering and merchandising was disappointing for multiple reasons - the rainy weather certainly didn't help the situation.

The fatal accident of the 18-year-old Swiss cyclist Muriel Furrer in the junior race is also mentioned. Due to this tragic event, several festivities and events were cancelled at the last minute.

The organization has now filed a request for a moratorium and protection from creditors, according to the Swiss newspaper Tagesanzeiger. The city and the canton of Zurich are probably prepared to take on the debts, in addition to the previous financial support for the World Championships.

"The city government is prepared to support the association financially to make the clean-up possible and to prevent damage to private creditors," Het Nieuwsblad quotes a statement from the city of Zurich. An external investigation will be conducted to determine the amount needed to help the organization.