London named world’s top sports city ahead of LA and Paris
Olympic host cities dominate the top five of the 2019 rankings
London has been ranked as the No.1 sports city in the world for the third year in succession.
In the 2019 ranking compiled by communications agency Burson Cohn & Wolfe (BCW) Sports, Olympic hosts cities dominate the top five.
The UK capital, the 2012 Olympic Games host city, finished top in this year’s report ahead of Los Angeles (2028 hosts), Paris (2024), Tokyo (2020) and Lausanne, the Olympic capital.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
In its list of the top 50 sports cities from around the world BCW says the ranking “focuses primarily on the viewpoints of international federations and sports media, combined with an in-depth analysis of the strength of the association between sport and a city in the digital environment”.
London also topped the ranking in 2017 and 2018, while this year Manchester moved into tenth place from 35th in 2018 and Glasgow was 16th, up from 21st last year.
Lars Haue-Pedersen, managing director of BCW Sports, said: “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 club, such as Manchester United or Real Madrid, are strongly associated with sport.”
2019 ranking of sports cities: the top ten
2019 ranking | City | 2018 ranking |
1 | London (UK) | 1 |
2 | Los Angeles (USA) | 2 |
3 | Paris (France) | 3 |
4 | Tokyo (Japan) | 5 |
5 | Lausanne (Switzerland) | 4 |
6 | New York (USA) | 9 |
7 | Barcelona (Spain) | 7 |
8 | Madrid (Spain) | 29 |
9 | Beijing (China) | 10 |
10 | Manchester (UK) | 35 |
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'Make legal immigration a more plausible option'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
LA-to-Las Vegas high-speed rail line breaks ground
Speed Read The railway will be ready as soon as 2028
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Israel's military intelligence chief resigns
Speed Read Maj. Gen. Aharon Haliva is the first leader to quit for failing to prevent the Hamas attack in October
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Can MLB solve its uniform crisis?
Today's Big Question See-through pants and sweat stains draw derision from players and fans alike
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Is legalized betting hurting sports?
Today's Big Question A 'building avalanche of gambling scandals' threatens competition
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Is this the year women take over March Madness?
Today's Big Question Caitlin Clark, Angel Reese and other stars make the women's game more popular than ever
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
The Parkrun records row
Why everyone's talking about Weekly fun run deletes historic comparative data from website amid row over trans participants
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Last updated
-
The NFL's concussion settlement has seemingly failed its players
Under the Radar The league promised to pay players who had suffered brain trauma. Allegedly, it has not happened.
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Luke Littler: teenage 'viral sensation' takes darts world by storm
Why everyone's talking about The 16-year-old Brit is youngest-ever World Championship finalist and will battle for Sid Waddell trophy tonight
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
College football has a major controversy. Will Congress get involved?
Talking Point Why Florida State was left out of the College Football Playoff
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Mason Greenwood: footballer arrested on suspicion of rape and assault
Speed Read Man Utd confirm the striker will not train or play until further notice
By The Week Staff Published