Swiss economic output boosted by Olympics, European football championships

The Swiss economy grew by 1.8 per cent in the second quarter, the government said on Tuesday, boosted by income from the Paris Olympics and the European football championship as well as higher pharmaceuticals and chemical production.

The annual increase beat Reuters forecasts for 1.4 per cent as broadcast revenues from both sporting events almost doubled GDP generated in the arts, entertainment and recreation.

As Switzerland hosts sports organisations such as European soccer's governing body UEFA and the International Olympic Committee, it generates added value from the sale of licences, marketing rights and ticket sales for the events they organise.

When the impact of these events is removed, the economy grew by 1.4 per cent, said the State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO), which calculates the figures.

The improvement, from a 0.3 per cent increase in the first quarter, also reflected an improvement in manufacturing, where a strong expansion from the chemical and pharmaceuticals industry compensated for a drop in output from other parts of industry.

"Sporting events like the Summer Olympics and the European Championships had a huge impact on the figures of Q2 2024," said SECO economist Felicitas Kemeny.

"But the economic impact is not that great – the effect on the labour market is very limited. The Paris Olympics doesn't lead to a lot of new jobs in Switzerland, while the organisations often redistribute the money to other countries, to develop football for example."

Quarter on quarter, Swiss economic output in the second quarter expanded by 0.5 per cent, in line with the government's earlier estimate.

When the sporting events were included, output increased by 0.7 per cent, the government said.

Despite the upturn in the second quarter, Kemeny said she still expected growth this year to be below Switzerland's long term average of 1.8 per cent.

"Although this quarter has surprised slightly to the upside, the international environment remains tough," she said. “Overall we expect growth to be a bit slower than normal and in line with our current forecasts of around 1.2 per cent.”