2007–2008: Cardiff The first Millennium Magic round was confirmed in September 2006 for the weekend of 5–6 May 2007.
Richard Lewis, chairman of the RFL, cited both expansion and monetary reasons for the move to Wales, but the plan also allowed the Super League to be reduced by one round (critics had stated that the players were put under too much strain over the season). The event was funded and promoted by the
Welsh Tourist Board, who were looking to build on the
Challenge Cup finals which had taken place in
Cardiff between 2003 and 2005 due to the rebuilding of
Wembley Stadium. After the success of the first Millennium Magic in 2007, it became an annual fixture in the Super League calendar. Three
Super League XII fixtures took place on Saturday 5 May 2007, and a further three on Sunday 6 May 2007. The games played were, where possible, 'local derby' matches in an attempt to maximise interest in the event. The two 'non-heartland' clubs in Super League at that time,
Catalans Dragons (France) and
Harlequins RL (London), were paired against each other. The teams would face their Millennium Magic derby opponents four times during the Super League XII season.
Celtic Crusaders opened the weekend against
Oldham R.L.F.C. in a
National League Two game on the Friday night (4 May) at
Brewery Field,
Bridgend. This match officially celebrated 100 years of club rugby league in Wales as Oldham were the first ever opponents to Merthyr Tydfil in the first professional game in Wales on 7 September 1907. In an eventful match, Oldham came back from 26-6 down to win 34–26 in front of 3,441 fans, a record attendance for a National League 2 match. It was also the first National League 2 game shown live on British television, covered by
Sky Sports. A 58,831 aggregate crowd saw the Magic event at the Millennium Stadium. Super League clubs agreed to repeat the event during the following season with Nigel Wood, the RFL's chief operating officer, saying: "The clubs and fans thoroughly enjoyed the day and our aim is to make next year's event even bigger and better."
2009–2010: Edinburgh vs
Leeds Rhinos during the third Sunday game of 2009 It was confirmed after the 2008 event that the weekend was to be moved in 2009 to
Murrayfield Stadium in
Edinburgh,
Scotland. The event included matches based on a seeded draw, using finishing positions from Super League XIII. The 2010 Magic weekend took place on 1–2 May 2010 at Murrayfield. After fan criticism of the seeded draw, The
RFL decided to ask all 14
Super League clubs whether they would like to revert to derbies. The result favored a seeding again where the top 8 teams faced each other, and the bottom six would play each other.
2011: Return to Cardiff The Magic Weekend returned to its original location at the
Millennium Stadium, and it saw the opening round of the
2011 Super League season on the weekend of 12–13 February 2011. The event also returned to the original format with the majority of the games being local rivalry games.
2012–2014: Manchester The 2012 event was held at the
Etihad Stadium, home of
Manchester City Football Club, and was the first time the Magic Weekend was held in
England. The date of the Magic Weekend was changed for 2012, reverting to a mid-season game week rather than as a season opener like 2011. However, unlike the first four Magic Weekends, the matches were played over a weekend at the end of May (after the end of the football season) rather than during the
May Day bank holiday weekend at the start of May. Although the last weekend of May is usually the Late Spring Bank Holiday weekend, the Spring bank holiday in 2012 was moved back a weekend as part of the
Diamond Jubilee. Following the premise of previous Magic Weekends, the majority of the fixtures were local rivalry games. 2012 was the first time that
Widnes Vikings participated in the Magic Weekend. The aggregate attendance of the weekend was 63,716 (the largest ever). The 2013 Magic Weekend was once again held at the Etihad Stadium, Manchester, on Saturday 25 and Sunday 26 May. As in 2012, the 2013 Magic Weekend took place after the end of the football season in May, on the late Spring bank holiday weekend. As in previous years, some of the matches were local rivalries with
Castleford playing
Wakefield Trinity and
Hull F.C. Hull Kingston Rovers, both repeat fixtures from 2012. The other four matches were new fixtures for the Magic Weekend and included
St. Helens playing
Warrington and
Bradford vs
Huddersfield, continuing the tradition of having local rivalry matches at the Magic Weekend. On 31 May 2013, less than a week after the 2013 Magic Weekend, the RFL announced that the Magic Weekend would once again return to the Etihad Stadium, Manchester for 2014, with matches being played on Saturday 17 and Sunday 18 May. On 23 January 2014, the fixtures were announced with, in a repeat of the 2013 fixtures, four matches set to take place on the Saturday with the remaining three scheduled for Sunday, including four
local derbies (
Huddersfield-
Bradford,
Hull Kingston Rovers-
Hull FC,
Wakefield Trinity-
Castleford and
Warrington-
St Helens R.F.C.) plus the meeting of the last two winners of the Super League Grand Final,
Wigan Warriors and
Leeds Rhinos. The other matches consisted of
Widnes vs
Salford and
London vs
Catalans Dragons. Controversy was created in the city of Hull following the announcement that the
2014 FA Cup Final was to take place at exactly the same time and date as the fixture between Hull FC and Hull KR, this being the first FA Cup final
Hull City had qualified for. The RFL announced on 15 April 2014 that they would not be changing the fixture. The aggregate attendance of 64,552 was the highest ever for a Magic Weekend, while the Saturday attendance of 36,339 was the highest ever single-day figure until both records were surpassed the consequent year in
Newcastle-upon-Tyne.
2015–2018: Newcastle In 2015, the Magic Weekend was forced to move due to construction at the
Etihad Stadium, which would commence immediately after the
2014–15 Premier League season had concluded, which meant the Magic Weekend was due to be changed, with Coventry's
Ricoh Arena and Newcastle upon Tyne's
St James' Park being considered by the RFL. Blake Solly had confirmed that the Etihad and Super League did have a good partnership, but there were alternatives available to host the event. On 10 September 2014, it was confirmed that the Magic Weekend had been awarded to Newcastle for 2015, and would be played 30 and 31 May 2015. With the Super League Reformatting in 2015, the Magic Weekend featured twelve teams and six matches, as opposed to the seven games in previous years. The event was considered the most successful to date, with a record aggregate attendance of 67,788, a record single-day crowd of 40,871 on the Saturday and an estimated benefit of £4.2 million to the Newcastle economy. After a successful event in Newcastle in 2015, the Magic Weekend returned to
St James' Park for the second year running with most fixtures being based upon last season's league standings rather than local derbies. The top four from last season play each other;
Leeds Rhinos v
Wigan Warriors and
St. Helens v
Huddersfield Giants. Continuing with this trend, 5th placed
Castleford Tigers play 6th placed
Warrington Wolves and the two teams in the bottom four last season,
Widnes Vikings and
Salford Red Devils, play in a repeat of last year's fixture. Last season's bottom placed
Wakefield Trinity Wildcats play
Catalans Dragons: as the Dragons struggle away from home, this fixture is to give both teams a chance of winning. The only derby this year is the Hull Derby at the end of the weekend. For the third consecutive season, Magic Weekend returned to Newcastle. This is the Leigh Centurions' first time playing at the Magic Weekend. This is because Magic Weekend first made an appearance in 2007, two seasons after Leigh's relegation. For a fourth year in succession, Magic Weekend took place in Newcastle. As a curtain raiser, the first game to be played on the first day was a
Championship fixture between
Toronto Wolfpack and
Toulouse Olympique.
2019: Liverpool enter the pitch before the third Saturday game kicking off the second Sunday game
Anfield was chosen as the venue for the 2019 Magic Weekend after two test matches were played there in 2016 and 2018. After previously choosing games that were local derbies or competitive games, in 2019 the fixtures were determined by the previous season's league position. Robert Elstone, Super League Chief Executive, said "On behalf of the Super League clubs, we’re delighted to be taking the Dacia Magic Weekend to one of the most famous stadiums in the world.
2020: Cancelled The 2020 event was due to return to Newcastle's
St James' Park, however it was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in addition to
wider implications for the
2020 season.
2021–2023: Return to Newcastle The Super League's Magic Weekend saw a belated return to Newcastle for the
2021 season. Fixtures for the event were announced on 23 February with matches scheduled to be played during the weekend of 4–5 September. The Super League's Magic Weekend stayed in Newcastle, for the
2022 season. Fixtures for the event were announced on 23 February with matches played during the weekend of 9–10 July.
2024: Leeds In November 2023, Super League confirmed Magic Weekend would take place at
Elland Road in
Leeds for the
2024 Super League season. Despite a poor public appetite for the 2024 event to be held at
Elland Road, which resulted in the second lowest attendance since the event began, Magic Weekend 2024 was one of the more profitable editions of the event, which
The Guardian attributed to the location being closer to participating clubs and the RFL headquarters. Rugby League Commercial (the RFL's marketing branch) labelled the weekend a success having beat the target attendance of 50,000, and stating that the previous target of 60,000 when at St James's Park was not unrealistic.
2025: Return to Newcastle Following the RFL partnership with
IMG there were rumours that Magic Weekend would be scrapped for 2025 with it being known the IMG advising the RFL to remove loop fixtures from
Super League which would include Magic Weekend. Ahead of Magic 2024, RL Commercial (the RFL's marketing branch) chief confirmed that while IMG and the RFL were looking to scrap loop fixtures, Magic Weekend would remain in the calendar. Following the 2024 event, The Guardian stated that the RFL were considering a return to Newcastle, along with Nottingham, Dublin, and Cardiff as venues for Magic 2025.
2026: Return to Liverpool On 25 November 2025, Super League announced that Magic Weekend would return to Liverpool, this time at
Everton's
Hill Dickinson Stadium. Magic Weekend 2026 will feature only the British teams in Super League, with the two French sides
Catalans Dragons and
Toulouse Olympique, contesting a "Magic Fixture" at a neutral venue in France on the same weekend. Before confirmation of its return, the event had previously been set to be removed following
Super League's expansion to 14 teams and the subsequent removal of loop fixtures from the competition. ==Venues==