A study has found that several taekwondo events had a positive impact on the local area ©Getty Images

A study has shown that three World Taekwondo events had a positive impact on the host cities.

The study looked at the effects of the London 2017 World Taekwondo Grand Prix and World Para-Taekwondo Championships, the Sharm El Sheikh 2017 World Taekwondo Cadet Championships and the Abidjan 2017 World Taekwondo Grand Prix Final and Team Championships.

According to the study, 41 per cent of spectators in London were from outside the British capital with nine per cent coming from overseas.

These visitors then spent $1.11 million (£827,000/€943,000) during the event.

Additionally, the study found that London benefited by having 1,083 people take part in the sport at the "Capital Kicks" project, with 41 undergoing coaching courses.

The event in London also saw strong social media performance with three related accounts on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram attracting 131,344 likes, 1,353 shares and 2,423 new followers.

Tourists spent over $1 million at the London 2017 World Taekwondo Grand Prix and World Para-Taekwondo Championships ©World Taekwondo
Tourists spent over $1 million at the London 2017 World Taekwondo Grand Prix and World Para-Taekwondo Championships ©World Taekwondo

The Abidjan Grand Prix was said to benefit from a large amount of media coverage, which came after 11 broadcasters showed action from the competition in 81 nations across five continents.

Videos on World Taekwondo’s YouTube channel also received 128,000 views during the five competition days in the Ivory Coast city.

The competition in Sharm El Sheikh also gained local interest with 90 per cent of attendees said to be fans, with the remaining 10 per cent in the Egyptian resort being accredited persons.

Chungwon Choue, President of World Taekwondo, said the London results showed the organisation "had met many of our objectives".

"We built closer relationships with the host city, London, our national federations and UK Sport," he said.

"We created better awareness of the 2018 and 2019 events and developed a strong, transfer of knowledge.

"We integrated the Para-taekwondo championships making it more accessible and inclusive and finally we increased our athletes' understanding of anti-doping through the on-site anti-doping education programme.

"The study shows what a broad range of outcomes our events deliver for host cities and Governments which is important to show for future host cities."