(ATR) London has been named the world’s top city in the second annual Sports City Index, presented by Around the Rings and TSE Consulting.
Successfully hosting an Olympic Games apparently is key to being considered one of the world’s top cities for sport for decades to come, according to the 2013 Sports City Index.
Eight of the top 10 finishers have hosted the Olympics. London, host of the 2012 Games, was again voted #1, while seven other past Olympic Games host cities are close behind: Barcelona (1992), Sydney (2000), Melbourne (1956), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), Paris (1924) and Tokyo (1964).
Successfully hosting an Olympic Games apparently is key to being considered one of the world’s top cities for sport for decades to come.The full results can be seen here.
Eight of the top 10 finishers have hosted the Olympics. London, host of the 2012 Games, was again voted #1, while seven other past Olympic Games host cities are close behind: Barcelona (1992), Sydney (2000), Melbourne (1956), Beijing (2008), Vancouver (2010), Paris (1924) and Tokyo (1964).
The rankings were calculated following a five-week public voting period. People were asked to rank cities on a number of criteria, including the city’s attractiveness to visitors, its ability to host large-scale sporting events, and other factors. The first Index appeared in 2012.
Two upcoming host cities also figured into the rankings: Rio de Janeiro at 12, and Sochi at 41.
PyeongChang, site of the 2018 Olympics, will be dropped from the voting of the next edition after receiving the fewest number of votes.
Lars Haue-Pedersen, managing director, TSE Consulting, said, "We start to see some clear trends in the Index. In general, the cities that are in the top half of the Index are cities that are quite established as sports cities, but also well-established tourist destinations.
"They can therefore use events to just enforce a strong message they are already telling the world. While those cities in the bottom half are generally the new players - both in terms of sport but also in a wider sense."
Pedersen had some advice for cities toward the bottom of the Index.
"Although they are actively hosting events," he said "they could consider doing more in terms of communicating their efforts to the world. It presents some interesting discussion points as to the opportunities and challenges these cities face in terms of their perception, and equally for the rights holders choosing to take their events to these newer cities."
The 2022 Winter Olympic bid cities had a dedicated section of questions for their readiness, and Beijing was the clear favorite.
The 2008 Olympic Games host city received almost 25 percent more votes than second-place finisher Stockholm. Oslo was third, followed by Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; and Almaty, Kazakhstan.
Another interesting result was the performance of the cites in the United States. The U.S. Olympic Committee has made clear its intention to bid for the 2024 Olympics. The highest-ranked U.S. city was New York at number nine. New York has shown no interest in bidding. As many as 10 cities have expressed interest in bidding,but only three of those -- Los Angeles, Boston and Washington D.C. -- are ranked.
Cape Town at number 10 is the highest-ranked city to have never hosted an Olympics.
Buenos Aires; Helsinki; Gold Coast, Australia; Kazan, Russia; and Marrakech, Morocco are newcomers to the list.
Written by Ed Hula III
20 Years at #1: Your best source of news about the Olympics is AroundTheRings.com, for subscribers only.
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