A sea of red will wash over Perth this week as more than 21,000 Manchester United fans arrive from around the world, and the state government hopes they will bring tourist dollars with them.
The world's biggest sporting team arrived on Monday ahead of two friendlies against Perth Glory and Leeds United, and were greeted by fans at the airport and outside their hotel.
Over the next 10 days, they will participate in a training session in front of about 14,000 fans, a dinner at Optus Stadium, a corporate golf day, a supporters celebration and a soccer clinic with disadvantaged children.
Premier Mark McGowan said Manchester United had 659 million fans and 114 million social media followers, which provided a chance to showcase Western Australia to the world.
"They're doing promotional activities while they're here and seeing a bit of Perth and hopefully WA, so it's great for promoting our state around the world," he told reporters on Tuesday.
The premier said many players were excited to visit Perth for the first time.
But he still refuses to reveal the cost of bringing the team to WA.
"You don't reveal what you bid or what you pay because then you give a competitive advantage to your competitors when you bid for something else, so these things are always kept relatively secret," he told 6PR radio.
Mr McGowan said tourists travelling from interstate and overseas were also expected to spend money in WA.
"They won't just watch the soccer. They'll go shopping, they'll go to restaurants, they may well have a holiday around WA," he told reporters.
According to ticket purchasing data, people from the United Kingdom will make up most of the international visitors for the matches.
Tickets were also purchased from supporters in the US, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Czech Republic, Netherlands and Indonesia.
About 10,000 interstate visitors are expected to travel to WA, mostly from NSW and Victoria.
Australian Associated Press
