The Sporting Events Bill, introduced in the House of Lords on 14 May 2026, is set to reshape how brands and media owners operate around major sporting events in the UK.
Rather than requiring bespoke primary legislation for each event, the Bill creates a permanent framework that can be activated by secondary legislation for any qualifying major event.
Previous world-class sporting events, from the London 2012 Olympics to the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, each required their own time-consuming legislative process to establish legal protections.
The new framework is designed to be more efficient, but it introduces significant new obligations and risks for brands, sponsors, and the companies that own advertising assets.
The Bill creates two distinct regimes: one governing physical advertising near event venues, and another targeting what it calls “unauthorised association,” more commonly known as ambush marketing.
Under the first regime, “restricted advertising zones” will be established around venues, fan zones, and transport hubs, making it a criminal offence to carry out or permit an “advertising activity” without authorisation.
The definition of advertising activity is deliberately broad, capturing not just billboards but also promotional stunts, branded pop-ups, sampling campaigns, and activations aimed at broadcast audiences.
The Government’s own impact assessment anticipates a model similar to London 2012, where the organising committee negotiated agreements covering nearly all of London’s outdoor advertising inventory with media owners.
Brands unable to secure an authorised spot within restricted zones will face serious consequences, with breaches punishable by an unlimited fine on summary conviction in England and Wales, and authorities also empowered to seize, deface, or destroy offending material.
The second regime introduces a bespoke prohibition on unauthorised association, filling gaps in existing intellectual property law by preventing businesses from implying a connection with a sporting event without proper authorisation during the specified period.
Enforcement under this regime will rely on civil remedies including injunctions, damages, and account of profits, mirroring standard intellectual property remedies used in other commercial disputes.
The Bill does provide certain exceptions, such as allowing the use of a pre-existing trademark or registered design, but the critical question of where legitimate creative marketing ends and unlawful association begins remains blurry in the current text.
With the Bill expected to enter the Commons in September, several significant gaps remain that industry figures will want the Government to address before it becomes law.
The precise scope of restricted zones and the duration of advertising restrictions have not yet been clarified, with much of the detail expected to be left to secondary legislation, which receives less parliamentary scrutiny than primary law.
The Bill also contains no statutory duty to consult advertisers, brands, media owners, or the Advertising Association before regulations are made, offering only a vague requirement to consult “any other person” considered appropriate by the relevant national authority.
There is also no provision for compensating brands or media owners whose existing contractual rights are overridden by the creation of restricted zones, a gap that current rights holders will almost certainly want addressed.
The broad, fact-sensitive test of whether a representation is “likely to suggest to the public” that an association exists will make meaningful advance planning extremely difficult without clearer statutory guidance or a code of practice.
With Euro 2028 set to be staged across the UK and Ireland, brands and media companies with plans built around the tournament will need to begin engaging with event organisers well in advance.
As Matthew Phillips, a partner at Reed Smith, and Olga Kacprzak, an associate at the same firm, have noted, industry voices are expected to press for greater statutory clarity on exceptions, consultation rights, and compensation as the Bill progresses through Parliament.