London Retains Global Sports City Title for 2016 While Budapest, Helsinki, Innsbruck, Baku and Minsk Are the Big Movers

(Source: London & Partners)

The Global Sports Cities Index 2016 was revealed during the Global Sports Tourism Summit at the World Travel Market in London on Monday.

London has hosted, or is set to host, 13 world championships and multi-sports games over the analysed period (2010-2023). Only Moscow (16) and Paris (14, and a 2024 Olympic Games candidate city) will host more events during this period. However, these do not score as highly as the events taking place in London.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said: “London has rightly retained the title of sporting capital of the world following a great year hosting NFL at Wembley and Twickenham, Andy Murray's great win at Wimbledon and‎ the European Aquatics Championships at the London Aquatic Centre, to name but a few. The Global Sports Cities Index confirms that London is open to the world for staging spectacular events."

London was placed first ahead of this year’s Olympic Games host Rio de Janeiro while the host of the 2020 edition, Tokyo, moves above Moscow into third place and Doha moves above Paris into fifth.

Budapest, Hungary’s capital and another 2024 Olympic Games candidate city, is the biggest mover inside the top 10, climbing five places in to seventh in the Index.

Los Angeles, the third of the 2024 Olympics candidate cities, is in 34th place, while Rome, which withdrew its bid for the games earlier this year, is 42nd. Copenhagen falls to eighth position while Beijing holds its place in ninth followed by Kazan in 10th.

With more data than ever before available on the Sportcal Events platform, the Global Sports Cities Index is calculated over a 14-year period, covering seven years in the past and seven years in the future (2010-2023).

Helsinki (12th), Innsbruck (16th), Baku (17th) and Minsk (19th) all climb the Index, with Innsbruck and Minsk moving furthest by 31 and 32 positions, respectively. Auckland, Kazan and Rotterdam are the three significant fallers within the top 20.

Past & Future Sports City

Rio de Janeiro heads the Past Sports Cities Index, rising 17 places in the process. However, the Brazilian city ranks only 150th in the Future Sports Cities Index, highlighting its lack of an events-hosting legacy in the wake of this summer’s Olympics. Tokyo, host of the 2018 FIVB Women’s Volleyball World Championships, 2019 Women’s World Handball Championships, 2019 World Judo Championships, 2019 Rugby World Cup and 2020 Olympic Games, becomes the leading Future Sports City in 2016, replacing Rio de Janeiro. In total, Tokyo will host seven world championships and multi-sport games between 2017 and 2023, based on events awarded to date.Budapest, Gold Coast, Innsbruck and Lausanne are the biggest movers within the Future Sports Cities top 10 while Moscow falls four positions to seventh.

Over the analysis period (2010-2023), 610 cities have hosted, or will host, a world championships or multi-sports games out of all events awarded to date.The Index analysed 787 events across 146 categories in 75 sports.

The Past Sports City and Future Sports City Indices analyse the seven-year period up to and including 2016, and the next seven years, respectively.