Melbourne retains ‘ultimate sports city’ title
Melbourne has retained its status as the best location in the world to hold a sporting event, winning the title of ‘ultimate sports city 2008’ ahead of other major international destinations.
According to results published in SportBusiness International, Melbourne’s ‘robust list of annual major events, excellent sporting venues and strong government support combined with its successful hosting of the Commonwealth Games in 2006 are factors in the Australian city’s prominence as a sporting host city.’
Melbourne was previously awarded the title 18 months ago and this year beat Germany’s capital Berlin (in second place) and Australian rival Sydney (third place). London took out fourth place, while Vancouver came fifth.
Twenty-five cities were profiled in the report and judged according to the number and prominence of their major sports events hosted or won for the period 2004 to 2012. More than 100 interviews were undertaken with government departments, city officials, event organisers, federations and industry specialists during the process of the analysis.
Rachael Church-Sanders, author of the report, said, “Melbourne has retained the title of Ultimate Sports City based on a strong performance in most of the categories analysed, coming first in six categories and second in one other.”
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Media contact: Adam Barker via email at adam.barker@sportbusiness.com