Why did the Las Vegas banner pop up at Spa-Francorchamps?
During last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix, the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps was decorated by 'Las Vegas banner', and it has emerged that it was down to a freshly-signed partnership between Formula One and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority.
After the Belgian Grand Prix, Formula 1 announced a partnership with the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority with the LVCVA having become an Official Partner of Formula 1.
The LVCVA which are founding partners of the Las Vegas Grand Prix is the official destination marketing organisation of Southern Nevada, promoting tourism, conventions, meetings and special events, inviting everyone to experience the spectacle of Las Vegas.
The inaugural Las Vegas Grand Prix took place last year, and was the largest sporting event in Las Vegas history and attracted a global TV audience of 59.3 million along with over 316,000 fans in attendance and 145,000 unique visitors, a record for the city. The Grand Prix also saw an economic impact of nearly $1.5 billion during year one, demonstrating the scale of economic and tourism value Formula 1 can bring to Las Vegas.
The new partnership, which launched at last weekend's Belgian Grand Prix at the Spa-Francorchamps circuit, saw LVCVA utilise the sport’s global platform to grow and sustain tourism in Las Vegas through trackside branding at a number of races this season.
The announcement noted that "the partnership, which will run until the end of 2025, will also see LVCVA continue to engage with fans globally via various fan activations at select races, continuing to demonstrate the synergies between the world’s most exhilarating sport and the world’s most electrifying destination."
Commenting on the partnership, F1 Chief Commercial Officer, Emily Prazer: “We are constantly pursuing unique and exciting ways to showcase the destinations in which we race and to demonstrate the value that our sport delivers economically, culturally and for the community.
The LVCVA were instrumental in bringing Formula 1 to Las Vegas as a founding partner of the race, and we are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with them to continue to position Las Vegas as the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World.”
President and CEO of LVCVA, Steve Hill commented: “We are thrilled to elevate Las Vegas’ visibility by becoming an official partner of Formula 1. In recent years, Las Vegas has made tremendous strides in becoming the Sports and Entertainment Capital of the World and partnering with the world’s premier motor sport organization to host the Las Vegas Grand Prix marked a major milestone in that effort.
"We look forward to working closely with Formula 1 through this new partnership and keeping Las Vegas top of mind for the millions of F1 viewers and fans around the world.”
