Andy Burnham is expected at Magic Weekend 2026 on Saturday, when Leigh Leopards meet Warrington Wolves at Hill Dickinson Stadium in Liverpool. The 20th edition arrives with more than 80,000 supporters expected across 48 hours, a size that would make this one of the event’s strongest showings in years.
Rhodri Jones said, “There was debate about Magic but I’m glad we presented and delivered on our rationale to maintain it,” after the format drew support through local derby fixtures such as Hull FC v Hull KR, Leeds versus Bradford, and Wigan against St Helens. He added, “We knew Everton would be a success and it’s proof the concept does work.”
80,000 at Hill Dickinson Stadium
The crowd projection is more than 10,000 above the previous best for Magic, which was set a decade ago in Newcastle. Jones said, “It’s blown us away a little bit,” and, on the derby card, “We knew Everton would be popular, we saw that from the Ashes, but the derbies format coming back has whetted the appetite and timing has helped with it being away from our other events too.”
That is the practical test here: a weekend built on multiple fixtures inside one stadium is now pulling a larger audience than the event has managed before. For Super League clubs, the numbers strengthen the case for a format that sells across the full 48 hours rather than relying on a single headline match.
Jones and the broadcast deal
Jones also tied the weekend’s success to the wider commercial picture. “There is now competition in the market because the usual destinations are asking what we’re doing next year,” he said, while adding, “We’re aware of the pressures in and around the game,” and, “We’re hopeful we’ll get a conclusion in the next couple of weeks.”
Super League and Sky Sports are in the final stages of negotiating a new broadcast deal, after the last one was worth just £20m per year to the sport. Against the NRL’s seven-year deal worth $5bn, the scale gap is hard to ignore; Magic Weekend’s crowd gives Super League one more proof point as it argues for value.
Everton in 2027
says Magic Weekend will remain at Everton in 2027 because demand this year has pushed the venue into the long-term plan. Some clubs wanted Magic off the calendar altogether, replaced by a Nines festival or an on-the-road Challenge Cup quarter-finals event, but the 80,000-plus turnout has shifted the argument back toward keeping the event where it is working.
For supporters, the immediate takeaway is simple: Saturday’s derby atmosphere is not just filling a stadium, it is helping decide whether Magic Weekend stays at Everton and what Super League can ask for when the broadcast announcement lands later this month.
