London’s sporting reputation received another boost this week as the city topped the 2019 Ranking of Sport Cities from global communications agency Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW).
For the third consecutive year the capital was top of the list, followed by Los Angeles in second and Paris third with Tokyo and Lausanne completing the top five.
The ranking focuses mainly on the viewpoints of International Federations and sports media, combined with analysis of the online strength of association between sport and a city.
London’s place atop the rankings demonstrates the global esteem in which London’s sporting landscape is still held, seven years on from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Fellow founding Active Citizens Worldwide (ACW) cities Singapore (34) and Auckland (43) also remain inside the top 50 in the seventh edition of the rankings by BCW.
The ACW project continues to work towards a fuller understanding of the drivers behind physical activity and sport participation and investment for active cities around the world.
London Sport’s Engagement Manager – Major Sports Events, Gareth Smith, said:
“It is great to see that sport is so highly regarded in London and has once again been recognised as a city that is a fantastic place for sport and physical activity from the elite level to the grassroots.
“We know that London will continue to be a fantastic host of world-class international sporting events with the Cricket World Cup this summer just one example.
“It is also vitally important though that we use these events, such as the Rugby League World Cup in 2021, to inspire more people to get active and tackle a wide range of social challenges.”
Lars Haue-Pedersen, Managing Director, BCW Sports, added:
“It is interesting to see that the Olympic rings remain the most powerful brand with which cities can be associated, despite the various challenges facing the international sporting world.
“However, we can see from the results of our analysis of the digital environment that cities that are home to an internationally renowned football clubs, such as Manchester United, are strongly associated with sport.”
