Magic Weekend will remain on the rugby league calendar, in what is no doubt music to the ears of rugby league fans up and down the country.
Following the increase in teams to 14 for 2026, talks to remove the two-day event were in place, given that it would be a loop fixture, something that the league’s stakeholders wanted to get rid of for a fairer competition.
However, that decision was U-turned, and Super League’s big day out will head to the newly-built Hill Dickinson Stadium in Everton next year, in what is a switch from Newcastle’s St James’ Park.
The North East has hosted eight of the last 10 Magic events, but due to the success of the second Rugby League Ashes Test earlier in November, and due to stadium availability, one of the game’s biggest weekends in the year will head to Merseyside once again.
It won’t be the first time that the county has hosted Magic, with Liverpool’s Anfield being the venue in 2019. However, that event saw the third lowest cumulative attendance out of all 18 instalments.
We have taken a look back at every previous Magic Weekend, and ranked each by attendance, and judging by the stats, moving away from Newcastle could be a risky decision. The venue ranks five times in the top six most-attended events, with the 2016 instalment pulling in a huge 68,276 across the two days.
That year saw matches such as Leeds Rhinos vs Wigan Warriors, with the fixtures for that year being decided by the previous season’s league positions. Leeds finished top, and played Wigan in third, whilst St Helens and Huddersfield Giants went at it after finishing second and fourth respectively.
It is worth noting that from 2009-2014, Super League was still a 14-team competition, meaning there were two extra sets of fans attending those events.
Super League Magic Weekend attendances ranked
18. 2010 – Murrayfield, Edinburgh – 52,043
17. 2024 – Elland Road, Leeds – 53,103
16. 2019 – Anfield, Liverpool – 56,869
15. 2007 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – 58,831
14. 2009 – Murrayfield, Edinburgh – 59,749
13. 2011 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – 60,214
12. 2021 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 60,866
11. 2013 – Etihad Stadium, Manchester – 62,042
10. 2022 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 62,154
9. 2008 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff – 63,154
8. 2023 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 63,212
7. 2012 – Etihad Stadium, Manchester – 63,716
6. 2025 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 64,156
5. 2018 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 64,319
4. 2014 – Etihad Stadium, Manchester – 64,552
3. 2017 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 65,407
2. 2015 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 67,841
1. 2016 – St James’ Park, Newcastle – 68,276
