BCW Sports’ report provides a list of the 50 highest ranking sports cities across the globe by analysing the opinions of international sports federations, industry experts, and aggregating data from digital platforms including social media, website, and blog content.
New York’s win was strongly supported by its presence on digital channels for its total of 11 professional teams (in baseball, ice hockey, American football, and basketball). While the U.S. Open Tennis Championships and the New York City Marathon were both cancelled in 2020, both events maintained global awareness.
Completing the top 5 were London in second (holding its position), Los Angeles in third (up 1 place), Barcelona in fourth (up 3 places), and Paris in fifth (down 2 places). It is the first time in the reports 9-year history that 2 American cities have been in the top 3.
Lars Haue-Pedersen, managing director at BCW Sports, said “In a year of postponement, rescheduling, relocation and modifications for sporting events, it is more interesting than ever to discover the extent to which cities are associated with sport. The organisation of events became uncertain, tourism was banned, and cities could no longer benefit from the degree of international exposure that is linked to hosting events.”
“Sport has a powerful ability to attract, engage and move people, and through an integrated, audience-centric approach, sporting events and professional teams can become excellent vehicles for promoting a city internationally and creating economic impact.”
The full list is as follows:
- New York (USA)
- London (GBR)
- Los Angeles (USA)
- Barcelona (ESP)
- Paris (FRA)
- Lausanne (SUI)
- Manchester (GBR)
- Munich (GER)
- Tokyo (JPN)
- Madrid (ESP)
- Melbourne (AUS)
- Berlin (GER)
- Chicago (USA)
- Beijing (CHN)
- Milan (ITA)
- Sydney (AUS)
- Vancouver (CAN)
- Budapest (HUN)
- Boston (USA)
- Toronto (CAN)
- Rome (ITA)
- Dallas (USA)
- Dubai (UAE)
- Montreal (CAN)
- Atlanta (USA)
- Glasgow (GBR)
- Rio de Janeiro (BRA)
- San Francisco (USA)
- Indianapolis (USA)
- Salt Lake City (USA)
- Calgary (CAN)
- Doha (QAT)
- Edmonton (CAN)
- Stockholm (SWE)
- Gold Coast (AUS)
- Sochi (RUS)
- PyeongChang (KOR)
- Torino (ITA)
- Amsterdam (NED)
- Istanbul (TUR)
- Singapore (SIN)
- Copenhagen (DEN)
- Seoul (KOR)
- Buenos Aires (ARG)
- Moscow (RUS)
- Marseille (FRA)
- Baku (AZE)
- Cape Town (RSA)
- Oslo (NOR)
- Minsk (BLR)
Cities in positions 48-50 drop will off the review in 2022 and will be replaced by 3 new cities: Birmingham, Jeddah, and Abu Dhabi. The report highlights that whilst traditional European, North American, and Australian cities still have the largest strong holding, the Gulf Region is continuing an impressive rise to prominence.