ULTIMATE CITY SPORTS · For the third time in the history of these rankings, London has been named...

SPORTSCITY

ULTIMATE

REPORT

Published May 2018

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06.18 : SportBusiness International

2 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : W E L C O M E

London has reclaimed its crown as the world’s Ultimate Sports City. The award was once again handed out at the SportAccord convention, which

this year took place in Bangkok, Thailand. The ceremony saw London take home not only the overall award, but also pick up the titles for Best Legacy and Best Marketing and Branding.

Held every two years since 2006, the internationally-recognised SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City Rankings and Awards are the longest-established rankings of the world’s top sports host cities.

To decide the Ultimate Sports City of

Four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah runs past Tower Bridge, one of the iconic sights of London, this year’s Ultimate Sports City (Justin Setterfield /Getty Images)

THE ULTIMATE SPORTS CITY | LONDON REGAINS TITLE The British capital has reclaimed its crown as the world’s Ultimate Sports City

2018, we refreshed the process slightly from previous editions. In earlier years, a longlist of 150 cities from around the world was drawn up, based on sporting events staged over an eight-year period, and then whittled down to a final shortlist of 30 contenders.

This year, we increased our scope dramatically. The range of events included for eligibility was expanded, meaning 2018’s longlist contained over 500 cities.

All sporting events held in a city were given a weighting, based on their scale and prominence, with over 1,200 data points considered and analysed to leave us with our final contenders.

In January 2018, based on the analysis as well as input from our panel of high-profile industry judges, the 500 were reduced to a final shortlist of 30 cities which would compete for the title of Ultimate Sports City 2018. This was also broken down into shortlists of five in contention for the sub-category awards.

Analysis

London’s victory is its third in the 12-year history of the awards, having previously taken home the overall trophy in 2012 and 2014. Its triumph in 2018 is all the more impressive given that the Olympic Games of 2012 no


U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : W E L C O M E 3

Iain Edmondson, former head of major events at London & Partners, collects the award

bodies based in the city, and their importance

• Current venues and facilities, and capabilities for major sports events

• Transport and infrastructure• Accommodation • Government support and major sports

event strategy• Legacy planning and impact• Public interest in and attendance of events• Marketing and branding

For all categories, scores were allocated, with 25 points available across each criteria. The top-scoring city in each category receives 25 points, the second-highest 24, down to one point for the 25th-placed city. Those between 26 and 30 in a category received zero points.

Following this, three categories – marketing and branding, legacy planning and event strategy – were ranked by our panel of judges, all of whom work within the event hosting space and have extensive knowledge and experience of sporting events and the destinations that hold them. This enables a much clearer and deeper look into the non-measurable criteria than a data-driven approach alone would allow.

Size categories

Once again, we also handed out awards based on city population, to better reflect the aspirations of smaller cities that lack the budget to host the large-scale sporting events of giants like London or New York. In 2016, a fifth size category – extra-small city – was introduced, but this has been dropped for 2018 due to a lack of qualifying cities. This year, awards were handed out to the best small city (population under 1.3m), medium (between 1.3m and 3m), large (between 3m and 8m) and extra-large (over 8m). Z

longer contribute to its score, as they fall outside the event window of 2014-2022. The afterglow of that hugely successful event, however, did help secure the Best Legacy award for London.

Five continents were represented by the 30 finalists. European cities represented one third of the final 30, with numerous economic powerhouses in the region all hosting a variety of sporting events on a regular basis. Paris returned to the top ten after missing out in the previous two editions. Though its Olympic Games in 2024 did not count toward the city’s score this year, there is no question that the bid buoyed the French capital and has led to a significant increase in event hosting activity.

One of the stories of the 2018 edition has been the continued rise of Asia in the rankings – the world’s largest continent put up nine cities this year, as city authorities in countries from Qatar to Japan, from the UAE to China, continue to sink funds into sports, whether as a show of soft power or an attempt to announce their teams on the global stage, as with Japan’s hosting of the Rugby World Cup in 2019. Tokyo, which squeezed into the top ten, will host the final next year.

For the first time, no African city made the top 30. Previous years had seen strong showings from South Africa in particular, with Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg all appearing on earlier lists. Durban’s decision to pull out of hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2022 did it no favours, but that decision is also indicative of a wider economic malaise in Africa’s richest nation. The country is also still dealing with the disastrous legacy of the Fifa World Cup in 2010 and is inevitably reluctant to involve itself anew in major sporting events. Morocco’s bid for the 2026 Fifa World Cup has at least demonstrated an appetite to show the world that Africa can compete on this scale, and may foreshadow a stronger showing next time around.

Canada tied the UK for the most representatives in the top 30, with three. Calgary, Vancouver and Montreal all made the shortlist, while Toronto and Edmonton also performed very well and finished just

“No other city does world-class sport quite like London – proud to see our capital named the SportBusiness International Ultimate Sports City of 2018.”

SADIQ KHAN, MAYOR OF LONDON

THE JUDGING PANEL:Leanne Arnold director of strategy and communications, M-ISKelly Fairweather chief operating officer, International Tennis FederationTanya Heimlich-Ng Yuen director, Burson-Marsteller SportSean Parry senior consultant, The Sports ConsultancyJon Tibbs chairman, JTA

Alongside previous winners London, New York and Melbourne were three first-time entrants in Abu Dhabi, Mexico City and Prague. The UAE capital narrowly beat the other two in the race for the Best Newcomer award, and all three cities surely have exciting futures in event hosting.

Methodology

The size and frequency of events hosted over the eight-year period from 2014 to 2022 is the primary measurement for choosing the Ultimate Sports City, but several other criteria are involved. Cities were also measured on:• Number of federations and administrative

outside the final shortlist. The results reflect the country’s status as a strongall-rounder, with regular high-profile winter sports events augmenting occasional major global showpieces such as the 2015 Fifa Women’s World Cup.


4 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : L O N D O N

As one of the most affluent cities in the world, and the capital of the globe’s fifth-largest economy, London has never been a desert for

high-profile sporting events. From home-grown staples like Wimbledon

and the marathon to finals of global showpieces such as the football and rugby World Cups, London has provided a stage for the biggest sporting events throughout its history.

But the genesis of London as the sporting capital of the 21st century can be traced back to July 6, 2005 – the day the city beat Paris to the rights to host the 2012 Olympic Games, by four votes. Since then, sporting events have become part of the very fabric of the city.

The NFL’s London Games have become a much-loved staple of the city’s sporting calendar (Jamie McDonald/Getty Images)

ULTIMATE SPORTS CITY 2018 | LONDONFor the third time in the history of these rankings, London has been named the world’s Ultimate Sports City. From the NFL and NBA to Wimbledon and Euro 2020, the British capital’s event-hosting strategy, coupled with the public’s appetite for sport, has placed the city at the centre of the sporting world

In 2007, the National Football League brought the first of its regular-season fixtures to London, a tentative experiment in globalisation that has since expanded to four games played annually at three different venues across the city.

The National Basketball Association soon followed, and has staged a competitive game in London every year since 2011. This year, Major League Baseball announced it will follow suit, with two games to be played at the former Olympic Stadium in 2019.

Uefa Champions League finals were held at Wembley in 2011 and 2013, while 2014 saw the Tour de France pass through London. Twickenham staged its second Rugby World Cup final in 2015, the same year Formula E staged its season finale in Battersea Park

for the first time. The 2017 IAAF World Championships reinvigorated the city’s love for athletics.

It is no surprise, then, to see London reclaiming the title of SportBusiness’ Ultimate Sports City, four years on from its last win in 2014.

“London is the sporting capital of the world,” a spokesperson for London’s City Hall said in a statement to SportBusiness International. “One of the main reasons global sports events choose to come to London is because they know our world-class sports stadiums will be full of sports-mad, passionate Londoners. London sports fans are highly knowledgeable and will turn out in their tens of thousands to watch every kind of sport on offer.


Wimbledon’s Centre Court is one of the most iconic venues in global sport (Julian Finney/Getty Images)

“London’s all-round offering as a destination for sport made it a logical choice as the Ultimate Sports City”

KELLY FAIRWEATHER, COO, INTERNATIONAL TENNIS FEDERATION

Position Location

1 London XL

2 Melbourne L

3 New York XL

4 Auckland M

5 Glasgow S

6 Copenhagen M

7 Paris M

8 Los Angeles L

9 Calgary S

10 Tokyo XL

11 Manchester M

12 Sydney L

13 Berlin L

14 Dubai M

15 Gold Coast S

16 Singapore L

17 Montreal M

18 Vancouver M

19 Doha M

20 Moscow XL

21 Kuala Lumpur M

22 Abu Dhabi M

23 Beijing XL

24 Mexico City XL

25 Rio de Janeiro L

26 Sochi S

27 Hong Kong L

28 Prague S

29 Baku M

30 Budapest M

ULTIMATE SPORTS CITY 2018 TOP 30 FINAL POSITIONS

U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : L O N D O N 5

“Last year we hosted record crowds for the World Athletics and Para Athletics Championships and the NFL matches played in London sell out almost as soon as they go on sale. I am sure that we will see this happening again when we host the ICC Cricket World Cup and Major League Baseball next year, and seven matches at Wembley for the Euro 2020 championships.”

Upon the announcement of the award, at a ceremony at SportAccord in Bangkok in April, Sadiq Khan, the Mayor of London, tweeted: “No other city does world-class sport quite like London – proud to see our capital named the SportBusiness International Ultimate Sports City of 2018.”

Our panel of independent industry judges were highly impressed with London’s development, with the city taking home a further two awards on the night: Best Legacy and Best Marketing & Branding.

“London’s all-round offering as a destination for sport made it a logical choice as the Ultimate Sports City,” said Kelly Fairweather, chief operating officer of the International Tennis Federation and a member of the independent judging panel for

the Ultimate Sports City award. Sean Parry, senior consultant at The

Sports Consultancy and another of the judges, added: “London has consistently demonstrated all round excellence, consolidating its reputation as a world-leading host destination for global sports events.”

The legacy award is of particular significance for a city that has placed great stock in using the Olympic Games as a platform for development. “The 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games were a huge success for London, both on the track off the track with the legacy it has left behind in East London,” said City Hall.

“You only have to look at the new Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and the surrounding area to see the transformation that has happened as part of the legacy story from 2012.

“We’re seeing world-class sport being played at the London Stadium, Copperbox and Lee Valley velodrome, and this area of east London is the fastest growing area of the capital with 110,000 additional jobs created since the Games.” Z


6 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : A W A R D S

Glasgow has punched above its weight to attract world-class sport events

BEST OF THE REST | THE AWARDS BY CATEGORYThe winners from across all our award categories

BEST SMALL CITY: GLASGOW, UNITED KINGDOMPopulation of up to 1.3m

Glasgow has retained its title of the Best Small City, following the success of the 2014 Commonwealth Games with a series of high-profile events, including the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships, 2017 BWF World Badminton Championships, 2018 European Championship and 2018 European Indoor Athletic Championships.

The city scored impressively across multiple categories, and made the top five in the Best Venues, Best Event Strategy, Best Legacy and Best Marketing and Branding, as well as receiving high scores from several of our judges.

Glasgow is an all-rounder when it comes to hosting major sports events, choosing those that fit carefully devised objectives

while at the same time showcasing a vibrant sports-mad city. The legacy benefits of the 2014 Commonwealth Games will continue for generations to come and are to be applauded and admired.

BEST MEDIUM CITY: AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALANDPopulation between 1.3m and 3m

Auckland takes home the award for Best Medium City for the third straight edition. New Zealand’s largest city scored highly in many categories, and impressed the judges with its strong and transparent major events strategy in particular, as well as its successful policy of creating home-grown events.

Auckland’s Major Events Strategy was launched in 2011, and sets out the principles by which Auckland Tourism, Events and

Economic Development (ATEED) invests in major events. The intention of the strategy is to make Auckland a global events destination and to drive economic growth, both in the region and nationally, through hosting major events.

Since the Major Events Strategy was launched, Auckland has gained a reputation as a world-class events city and capability in the local events industry has grown considerably. Auckland has developed a strong events portfolio with an experienced industry to support it. It also attracted the judges’ plaudits for its legacy and marketing strategies.

Auckland is a city with engagement at its core when it comes to sports events – whether it is between the city and its stakeholders, the city and participants or the city and its visitors, everyone is made to feel that they are at the heart of sport in Auckland.


Continued from previous page...

BEST LARGE CITY: MELBOURNE, AUSTRALIAPopulation between 3m and 8m

Melbourne is the winner of the Best Large City for the fourth edition in a row.

As the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City at 10 winner in 2016, as well as the Ultimate Sports City in 2006, 2008 and 2010, and the runner-up in 2012 and 2014, Melbourne remains the best sports city in the southern hemisphere.

In addition to strong financial support from both state and local governments, Melbourne offers event owners a winning combination of world-class infrastructure, a collaborative network of event stakeholders to partner with and deliver exceptional events, and a passionate and enthusiastic sporting public.

Almost all Melbourne’s major sporting and cultural event venues are located in

the centre of the city. Most are less than a 15-minute walk from any city hotel, supported by an integrated public transport system of trams, trains and buses. A huge range of restaurants, hotels and other facilities are also in this precinct. This makes it easy to stage events over multiple venues.

Melbourne boasts a major events strategy that many other cities have since used as a best practice guide. The city has sports venues that are not only the best in the world, but are also at the heart of the city, fostering a greater sense of engagement with the general public and fans when events take place. Supportive governance at local, regional and national level means Melbourne offers an extremely safe pair of hands to event organisers in a stunning setting.

“I am proud that Visit Victoria was instrumental in Melbourne being honoured as the Best Large City for major sporting events at the 2018 Ultimate Sport City Awards, as well as being recognised for Best Major Event Strategy and Best Venues,” Peter Bingeman, Visit Victoria chief executive, told SportBusiness International.

“It shows that our team is successfully building Victoria’s position as a strategic leader in event acquisition, marketing and delivery. We have added more than 50 events to the major events calendar of Melbourne and Victoria since our inception, from the men’s and women’s final of the ICC World Twenty20 at the MCG to a two-match series featuring the NBA’s biggest stars. Melbourne is a global mecca for sport and Australia’s sporting capital.”

BEST EXTRA LARGE CITY: NEW YORKPopulation above 8m

New York is the winner of the Extra-Large City award for the third time, following its successes in 2012 and 2014 – it only missed out on four in a row due to winning the overall award in 2016.

The Ultimate Sports City judges were impressed by New York City’s events calendar, accessibility, diversity, public support and extra-curricular activities for visitors to the city.

NYC & Company – the city’s official marketing, tourism and partnership organisation – is responsible for attracting, creating and promoting sporting events throughout New York’s five boroughs, and facilitates the production of a diverse line-up of high-profile professional and amateur events. Working with its partnerships, events and in-house creative teams, NYC & Company has created customised marketing strategies and activation events that have delivered results for events and event sponsors. At the same time, events have excited local sports fans, generated revenue for the region and garnered positive exposure for New York City.

When it comes to its major events strategy, New York really is a city that never sleeps, balancing a bursting portfolio of high-quality annual events against a wide variety of one-off events of national and international significance.

The Big Apple scored highly in many categories, winning Best Public Support/Tourism in recognition of its high level of attendance at sports events, such as the US Open tennis championships, and reflecting the wide range of extra-curricular activities available for visitors to sports events in the city.

Those factors combined with a strong city brand and imaginative marketing prowess make New York a worthy winner of the Best Extra Large City. Z

Auckland, New Zealand was the winner of the best medium city

U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : A W A R D S 7


8 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : A W A R D S

BEST TRANSPORTATION: PARIS

Paris is one of the busiest cities in the world for air travel and its airports received over 100m airline passengers in 2017.

It has a widely-used and highly-rated metro service and the network is being expanded with the construction of the Grand Paris Express metro, consisting of four new automatic metro lines with 68 stations and 120 miles of rail. The new lines will connect the suburbs of Paris without going through the city centre and link with the main central stations and transport network. On completion, the new lines are forecast to carry two million passengers daily.

Paris is also extending the tram line network that surrounds the city and expanding its rapid bus services in dedicated lanes.

BEST ACCOMMODATION: DUBAI

Dubai is one of the world’s largest hotel markets with over 100,000 hotel rooms and hotel flats at all levels of quality.

The city is home to the iconic, sail-shaped Burj Al Arab Jumeirah which regularly features in lists of the top hotels in the world and on Dubai marketing. The

hotel, in particular the circular helipad, has also produced some memorable sports advertising images, including the Roger Federer vs Andre Agassi tennis match, Rory McIlroy’s bunker shot and a Red Bull Formula 1 car producing doughnuts. The hotel is the pinnacle of the many luxury hotels which feature in the Emirate.

Dubai also continues to expand its hotel stock with a massive building programme.

A further 95 hotels with over 29,000 hotel rooms are in the pipeline.

BEST EVENT STRATEGY: MELBOURNE

Melbourne regains an accolade it picked up in 2012 and 2014.

The city’s track record of attracting and delivering world-class events is based on a clear strategy that puts long-term relationship building with event owners at its heart.

Establishing Visit Victoria further developed Melbourne’s offering for event owners. Visit Victoria brings together the functions of Tourism Victoria, the Victorian Major Events Company and the Melbourne Convention Bureau to form a single organisation dedicated to growing the state’s visitor economy through tourism, marketing and event acquisition. The organisation provides a single point of contact for rights-

The impact of the 2012 Olympics lives on as London took home Best Legacy (Nick Spalding)

Paris took home the Best Transportation award



U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : A W A R D S 9

holders for the full event lifecycle. Visit Victoria supported the delivery

of 28 major events and across its first 18 months as a business had added 57 major events to its calendar from 2017 until 2025 through contracting new major events or renewing agreements with existing ones. The major events calendar has been developed to provide year-round event activity that amplifies Melbourne’s core brand attributes and delivers positive branding, economic, and tourism outcomes.

BEST LEGACY: LONDON

London continues to build on and expand the legacy of the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, not only with the commitment to hosting major international sporting events that engage the wider community, but via new initiatives aimed at driving active lifestyles and using sport to aid social cohesion.

The Ultimate Sports City judges were impressed by London’s grassroots legacy initiatives, including the new Community Sport Investment Programme ‘Sport Unites’. Sport Unites aims to make London the most active and socially-integrated city in the world. There are three key themes that underpin Sport Unites: • Sport for Social Integration • Active Londoners • Workforce and Capacity Building

Similarly, London Sport was established in 2015 with the aim to help one million people get more active by 2020 and make the capital ‘the most physically active city in the world’. In each of the two years since its set up, London Sport has attracted and invested over £5.6m per year to help it achieve its ambitions with over 50 per cent invested in community-level projects. This is already bearing fruit: in the two years since launch, surveys indicate that 216,000 Londoners have higher levels of physical activity.

London hosted the World Para Athletics Championships and IAAF World Athletics Championships in 2017, the first time both events have been held in the same city. London created a Summer of World Athletics which was used as a platform to engage community groups in physical activity. This included the Inspiration Programme, a series of 11 projects delivered to harness the impact on grassroots athletics.

BEST MARKETING AND BRANDING: LONDON

London has won Best Marketing and Branding for the third successive edition.

London & Partners, the Mayor of London’s official promotional agency, has developed a wide range of marketing initiatives which showcase the constantly evolving London offering – such as the development of influencer and outreach marketing, which has become a core channel within the London digital strategy over the past four years. London increases the reach and cost effectiveness of its marketing activities by targeting specific market segments and increasing the use of digital and social media.

In 2011, LONDON® was established as a single iconic visual style for city. Winning the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games provided a unique window of opportunity to create this master brand for London. The single brand model and visual icon would

need to unify attributes which apply to all areas in the strategic promotion of London. This holistic brand positioning aims to capture the essence of London and resonate within business, major event, students and tourist audiences.

BEST NEWCOMER: ABU DHABIAbu Dhabi has made no secret of its objective to become an international sport capital. As well as its huge investment in football worldwide through its Abu Dhabi United Group, the Emirate has demonstrated an ambitious and holistic event-hosting strategy at home, as it bids to become the Middle East’s preeminent sporting destination.

Its nascent strategy has delivered a premium event calendar across a range of sports in recent years. Annual events include the Formula One Grand Prix at the state-of-the-art Yas Marina Complex, the World Tennis Championship, ITU World Triathlon series and the Abu Dhabi Golf Championship.

The UAE’s capital city will host the Fifa Club World Cup for a second consecutive year in 2018, to be followed by the AFC Asian Cup in 2019. Other major events lined up include the 2019 Special Olympic World Games and the 2020 Fina Short-Course Swimming World Championships.

With its combination of quality venues, hotels and transport connections to the rest of the world, Abu Dhabi appears set to be a major sports destination. ZThe impact of the 2012 Olympics lives on as London took home Best Legacy (Nick Spalding)

Mass participation events played a part in Abu Dhabi being named best newcomer (Nick Spalding)


10 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : O N E T O W AT C H

The 2017 Fina World Championships demonstrated Budapest’s event-hosting capabilities (Clive Rose/Getty Images)

ONES TO WATCH | THE ULTIMATE SPORTS CITIES OF THE FUTURE Adam Nelson takes a look at four cities with the potential to make a big splash on future editions of Ultimate Sports City

The criteria that define a world-class sports city are constantly shifting, as economic and social conditions change and the

demands of governments, rights-holders and international federations evolve. Here our focus turns to the future, and the cities we expect to make their mark over the next two to four years, based on their coming event strategies and strong performances in the 2018 rankings.

Two of the destinations featured here can be found on this year’s shortlist of 30 – though they are yet to trouble the top-end – while two can be expected to compete in

future editions. Mexico City debuted on the list in 2018 while Budapest, buoyed by its bid for the 2024 Olympic Games, made a comeback after six years in the wilderness, having last featured in 2012. Lima and Riyadh, meanwhile, are preparing for big futures in different ways, and can both be expected to make major plays in event hosting over the coming years.

BUDAPEST, HUNGARYWhile Budapest’s ambitions to host the Olympic Games in 2024 were genuine, there was also a sense that its chances were

vanishingly small compared with the might of Paris and Los Angeles. Although ultimately defeated by public sentiment before IOC judges even landed in the city, the bid was constructed to ensure a legacy of its own, with several high-end sporting events being secured by the city as it sought to demonstrate its Olympic potential and show its desire to become a major sporting hub. 2017 brought world championships in judo and swimming; the coming years will see the Hungarian capital host the global showpieces for table tennis and wrestling as well as the European Volleyball Championships and fixtures in Uefa’s pan-continental Euro 2020.


U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : O N E T O W AT C H 11

The Dakar Rally brings thousands to Lima every year (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

Saudi Arabia is investing heavily into its sports infrastructure (Kaz Photography/Getty Images)

The country’s recently re-elected prime minister, Viktor Orbán, is a known football fanatic and has already sunk significant sums of money into developing the game in Hungary, with further spending planned. Budapest’s investment into sport cannot be expected to draw to a close with the end of its Olympic bid – underlining its ambitions, the city will serve as the European Capital of Sport for 2019.

LIMA, PERULima missed out on the top 30 in this year’s Ultimate Sports City rankings, but the Peruvian capital’s emerging event strategy suggests it may not be far from making future lists. Having warmed up with a series of South American championships – notably in athletics, badminton and gymnastics – and a bid for the 2015 Pan American Games, Lima will finally host the latter event in 2019. Set to be the biggest edition to date, the event is being seen by many as a dry-run for an eventual Olympics bid – particularly after the city welcomed the Olympic community at large in September of 2017 for the 131st IOC Session. Iván Dibós, a Peruvian member of the IOC, described the awarding of the Pan Am Games as “round zero”, adding that the country “needs to fight for something bigger”. While that might be a distant possibility in an age where megacities dominate the Olympic landscape, the Peruvian Olympic Committee, which guides the event strategy for the country, will be hoping for a Budapest-style boost from any potential bid. Attempts to host world championship-level events can be expected over the next few years.

MEXICO CITY, MEXICOMexico City made its debut in the Ultimate Sports City top 30 this year and was narrowly

pipped to the best newcomer award by Abu Dhabi. Its event strategy over the judging window – 2014-2022 – has been strong and, with the country’s joint bid for the 2026 Fifa World Cup alongside the United States and Canada a favourite against Morocco, its place in the rankings looks set to be cemented in the short-term. While financial and administrative problems have dogged other Mexican cities – Guadalajara’s late pull-out from hosting the 2017 Fina World Championships a recent example – the capital has gone from strength to strength over the last decade. Major events in a diverse range of sports including golf, archery, ice hockey and basketball, as well as a return to the Formula One calendar in 2015, have confirmed its reputation as one of the strongest all-rounder destinations in North America. Should the United 2026 bid be successful, Mexico City will become the first-ever three-time host of Fifa World Cup fixtures.

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIAWhile its neighbours in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Qatar have spent the last decade and more building their profiles in the sporting world, lavishing billions of dollars on overseas investments and a successful Fifa World Cup bid, Saudi Arabia has been playing the long game. The first phase of that game will be completed in 2022, when the country will

open the doors of Qiddiya, an enormous new sports and entertainment hub 40km west of its capital, Riyadh. Described by Saudi officials as “two-and-a-half times the size of Disneyland” – measuring 334 sq. km – the complex will contain a range of sporting facilities, including indoor ski slopes, a multi-function arena, and a race track which is hotly tipped to host a Formula One race.

Qiddiya is a major milestone for the Vision 2030 initiative, designed to reduce the kingdom’s reliance on oil to drive its economy. Having witnessed first-hand the soft power generated by sport for its neighbours, Saudi Arabia looks set to make a major play in the event-hosting world, and Riyadh can be expected to make its debut on the Ultimate Sports City rankings in the near future. Z

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12 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : J U D G E S R O U N D TA B L E

Uefa’s Euro 2020 will be the first tournament of its kind to share event hosting duties across the continent (Dan Istitene/Getty Images)

ROUNDTABLE | WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF MEGA EVENTS? Three of the Ultimate Sports City judges – Leanne Arnold, Sean Parry and Tanya Heimlich-Ng Yuen – discuss the future of large-scale events hosting and the major trends that will dictate the direction of the industry

The past few years have seen a debate about the future of large-scale sporting events and their continued viability outside all but a tiny elite of global cities. With London reclaiming its crown as the world’s Ultimate Sports City, following New York City in 2016, is this a further sign that only megacities can host mega events?Leanne Arnold: The trend is definitely focusing toward megacities. For smaller cities to be successful they have to put on more events. Budapest is a really good example – they’re looking at hosting more events, such as the Fina World Championships, they’ve announced their intention to host the IAAF World Championships. If the smaller cities want to host major sporting events, they’ve got to do what the larger ones do which is invest in hosting smaller events. In other words, they have to earn their stripes, get their skin in the game and all the rest of it.

Tanya Heimlich-Ng Yuen: As major events have evolved over the years, their needs fit more naturally with major cities – and likewise smaller events with smaller cities. This is simply a fact and while there is nothing wrong with this, it does show that there is a flaw in the traditional hosting model. Sean Parry: If considered at a city level, the list of potential mega-event hosts around the world is naturally limited. Either the city must already possess all the required infrastructure to host the event or have an appetite, backed by public support, to invest significant sums of money – often public – in new facilities. It must also have the operational capacity and physical infrastructure to cope with an influx of hundreds of thousands of additional visitors during a short period. While rights-holders can take cost and risk-sharing measures, these simple facts will remain.

Is money now the main factor in determining where events go? LA: If you look at what happened with the bids for the 2024 Olympic Games, with Hamburg, Boston, Rome and Budapest all pulling out, they’re all significantly smaller than LA and Paris. With the economic circumstances that the world has faced in the last few years, for smaller cities the cost is proportionally a lot more than it would be for a city with eight million people, for example. In cities like Rome, where they can’t deliver their own civic amenities, it’s hard to justify why you’d spend a couple of billion euros on hosting an event. SP: For rights-holders, in many cases, major event portfolios generate a large proportion of operating revenues, either directly through event-specific income, or indirectly by bolstering the value proposition for broadcasters, sponsors and other partners. Therefore, the overall financial viability of


U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : J U D G E S R O U N D TA B L E 13

UCI Road World Championships, Doha (Bryn Lennon/Getty Images)

event portfolios will always be a key factor in deciding where events should be hosted. However, sophisticated rights-holders are increasingly taking a balanced approach to how they use major events, both as an overall portfolio, but also over the longer-term cycles of individual events. Major events can be used to access new markets, attract new audiences to the sport, bolster participation, create unforgettable content and build long-term stakeholder buy-in – outcomes which are in many ways as important as the financial for the long-term development of rights-holders and sports. The success of London sits at the intersection of all these goals – they host events which the public engage with, are financially successful and create tangible wider impacts for the local population.

How can smaller cities ensure that they’re still able to host major sporting events? What kinds of strategies can they put in place to maximise the limited resources they have? LA: I think they just need to have the ambition and follow-through. Budapest hosted the Fina World Championships last year and showed that it was such a shame they missed out on 2024, because Budapest would have hosted a fantastic Olympic Games. If you take that as an example, what people need to do is experience these smaller cities. Another example is Doha, which hosted the cycling Road World Championships, they hosted a Fina event the year before, so they’ve invested in it and people have experienced large-scale events and international events there. I think that’s what they have to do.SP: The cities that are the most attractive event hosts for rights-holders have two things in common: they create a value proposition which identifies how they will deliver on a wide range of rights-holder objectives, and – as importantly – present a clear vision of the how the delivery of the event will be integrated into the wider strategies and plans of the city. Smaller cities offer rights-holders a different set of opportunities when compared to mega-cities, in particular the opportunity to be the headline act and the high levels of commitment to deliver that accompany this status. If they can communicate these benefits in a compelling manner, as well as demonstrate a clear hosting strategy and legacy, smaller cities can be just as attractive as larger ones for major event rights-holders.

On the other side, what can rights-holders do to work better with smaller cities to bring their showpiece events to the widest possible audience?THN: With rights-holders facing decreased interest in hosting from cities of all sizes, they must do all they can to ensure their events remain relevant and attractive, which includes adapting to new hosting models. For smaller cities to host major events, a good solution can be co-hosting with other cities or regional hosting. The idea of regional hosting is one that is gaining ground – why can’t Wales host an Olympic Games? Queensland, Australia or Alberta, Canada, for that matter? When an event is spread out it has greater potential to involve more people and reduces the financial risk put on a single host city.

By moving away from the rigid traditional hosting models, rights-holders can increase interest in their events and open themselves and their events up to many new opportunities. SP: Rights-holders can do two things: first, they should closely evaluate the value that their events can provide to cities across the spectrum of economic, social, media and environmental impacts. Second, they should help their hosts to maximise these outcomes in the way the event is calibrated and delivered in market. A genuine commitment to partner with a host city will increase the return on investment and objectives for hosts, creating a positive legacy for the event and opening a wider pool of potential future host cities.

To achieve these goals, rights-holders need not only to accurately communicate how their event can be used as a platform to achieve a wide range of public sector objectives, but also to create tools and approaches which allow them to maximise these outcomes. For example, at the outset of

their relationship with a new host, they could run a series of impact creation sessions. A focus on enhancing city benefits also allows rights-holders to ensure that the operational and capital costs required to host their event are proportionate to the value the event can bring and that rights and benefits are optimally allocated. A good investment is a good investment, for big cities or small.

LA: It’s a difficult question to answer. On the one hand, a rights-holder like the IOC must continue to attract younger people and grassroots participation etc. On the other they’ve got to be able to still attract those people who are going to attend the Olympics – the average age of an Olympic spectator is 52. So it’s a difficult balance and a difficult question to answer.

What major trends show the future of the ultimate sports city? How are the criteria the rights-holders look for in host cities changing? SP: Major event bodies across sport, culture, business and heritage have historically worked in silos, missing out on the opportunity to create a cohesive approach to deliver wider city- and national-level goals through events. We now see event agencies that we work with, such as Event Flanders, starting to take a more holistic view of ‘major events’ in general. Major events should be simply viewed as a platform that a city can use to deliver almost any outcome they like. Developing a joined-up approach which connects wider public-sector strategy with the selection and delivery of all major events – across sport, culture, business et cetera – creates consistency in approach, efficiency in delivery and amplifies outcomes to the benefit of the general public.LA: I think increasingly it’s about the experience, the human experience. Youngsters are becoming more attracted to online experiences and artificial intelligence. But I think that increasingly, just because you haven’t got a ticket doesn’t mean that you can’t be part of this great big festival, doesn’t mean you can’t be proud that your city and your country are hosting these types of events. I think it’s becoming more and more about the experience, whether that’s online or in reality. That’s becoming more compelling for people. Everybody can get involved, it’s not an elitist event. Formula One for example has the most expensive ticket on the circuit, but they’re creating fanzones and festivals in the cities they visit, to ensure everyone can be involved. Z


14 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : G L A S G O W

GLASGOW’S LEGACY IN ACTIONIn 2018, Glasgow secured a second consecutive fifth-place finish in the overall Ultimate Sports City rankings, and a well-deserved trophy for the best city with a population under 1.3 million. Rory Squires talks with Billy Garrett, director of sport and events at Glasgow Life, about how Scotland’s second city has created a world-beating event strategy

With a population of just over 600,000, Glasgow has forged a reputation as an events host that many larger destinations

would envy.Glasgow not only triumphed in the Best

Small City category against destinations with populations up to twice its size, but also maintained its fifth place in the overall standings – a remarkable achievement considering the scale of the competition from medium, large and extra-large metropolises.

According to Billy Garrett, director of sport and events at Glasgow Life, which was established in 2007 to deliver cultural and leisure services on behalf of Glasgow City Council, the city is reaping the rewards of a

targeted event-hosting strategy dating back some three decades to the Glasgow Garden Festival of 1988 and the European Capital of Culture accolade in 1990.

“You have to go back quite a long way to get to the root of it,” Garrett tells SportBusiness International. “The city has benefited from a consistent strategy that is based on a consensus across the various governmental administrations and partners we have worked with locally and nationally.

“It all came about due to the challenges of de-population and de-industrialisation that faced Glasgow. There was a concerted effort to invest in culture and leisure, making events one of the key planks of the city’s regeneration.”

Taste for sport

The acclaimed 2014 Commonwealth Games gave Glasgow a taste of major sporting events that has shown no sign of fading.

The 2015 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships were hailed by Bruno Grandi, then president of the sport’s global governing body as “even better than the Olympic Games” after attracting about 80,000 spectators and generating an economic impact of £4.9m (€5.6m/$6.6m) for Glasgow. In the same year, the International Paralympic Committee Swimming World Championships took place at the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.

After staging the 2017 BWF World Badminton Championships, this year the


U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : G L A S G O W 15

2018 European Championships are being co-hosted by Glasgow and Berlin, with the Scottish city set to welcome 3,000 athletes who will compete in aquatics, cycling, golf, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon.

Next year, the European Athletics Indoor Championships and the European Short Course Swimming Championships are on the schedule, while in 2020 the city will host the Men’s World Curling Championship and four matches of the Uefa European Championship, which is being held at several major destinations across Europe.

The city is also home to the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix – widely seen as the most prestigious annual indoor athletics event on the calendar – and it was announced at the start of May that Davis Cup tennis would be returning to Glasgow’s Emirates Arena in September, with Great Britain’s World Group play-off against Uzbekistan.

Mass-participation events, such as the Great Scottish Run and Women’s 10k will also remain on a busy sporting calendar over the coming years, with the city attempting to make the most of its state-of-the-art facilities that, Garrett says, are “owned by the people, who lend them to these events”.

Facilities investment

Since the late 1980s, £300m has been invested into the city’s sporting facilities – £190m of which has been pumped in since 2009 as part of a broader £1bn infrastructure improvement programme.

“Each facility is built for the city of Glasgow and is ready for legacy mode,” Garrett says. “The velodrome, for example, is heavily used by Glasgow’s cycling clubs and members of the public.

“Cycling is a really powerful sport for us at the moment. Integrating professional races with City Ride events can feed into a wider cycling strategy across the city. We already work with existing clubs in the city and it is really important for us to develop the grassroots.

“With the recent completion of the BMX track that will be used for this summer’s European Championships, we are now the only city in the world capable of hosting all four Olympic cycling disciplines – track, road, BMX and mountain bike racing. We will be bidding for cycling events as we’ve created the infrastructure. We’ve demonstrated that we can sell out events. Every event we host has a significant legacy programme involving community groups and schools. For example, at the BMX site, one of the anchor tenants

will be a local cycling club.”The number of people in the city taking

part in sport is now at an all-time high and, according to Glasgow Life, the sports sector supports about 10,000 jobs in the city and contributes about £370m to Glasgow’s economy every year.

But using events as a launchpad for providing the facilities and encouragement to drive positive societal change through sporting activities is just one of a “mixed shopping bag” of legacies sought by Glasgow, according to Garrett.

Legacy goals

The common denominator of Glasgow’s sporting events is their relevance to the general population, which explains why the city scored so impressively in the awards’ legacy category.

“There is no single legacy priority for us,” says Garrett. “We deliver some events that offer only economic benefits, such as major conferences, for example.

“However, when you look at sporting events, they offer really interesting dynamic equations and we focus on particular sports that we think will resonate in the city, such as swimming, cycling, athletics, gymnastics and badminton. These sports have strong foundations across the city, with strong participation, club structures and demand, and are easier to extend into the community.

“We certainly do not ignore other sports though, including curling, triathlon, judo and many others. We’ll also be giving some thought towards creating our own events. Increasingly that could become important.”

Glaswegians certainly have an appetite for sporting events. More than 50,000 people applied for 15,000 volunteer roles at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and the Glasgow Sport Volunteer Bureau – an online system that matches people with volunteer opportunities across the city – has been “inundated” ever since, according to Garrett.

“In terms of volunteers, the Commonwealth Games was a bit of a step change for us,” he adds. “We have found that people who volunteered for the Commonwealth Games have gone on to be volunteers at other events.

“But it isn’t just about providing a workforce for the event; it is also about having an impact on the wider community and it’s about civic engagement. Volunteering helps to overcome social isolation and creates social cohesion. It also enhances an individual’s employability.”

Glasgow has not been alone in its efforts to tell its story to the sporting world and become a prime destination for international federations. Arguably Glasgow’s most important supporter is EventScotland, the country’s national events agency, which has been a constant presence at major industry


16 U LT I M AT E S P O R T S C I T Y : G L A S G O W

BY DOMINIC BLISS

So, after all the hype and speculation, undefeated boxing legend Floyd Mayweather did as expected and dispatched gritty Ultimate Fighting

Championship (UFC) star Conor McGregor in late August at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. A 10th-round stoppage meant both men emerged with their reputations intact and fans who paid up to $100 (€84) for a live pay-per-view (PPV) feed probably got their money’s worth.

The fight was believed to have generated $600-$700m from tickets, TV sales and sponsorship. Of this, Mayweather is thought to have walked away with $200m, while McGregor took home around $100m – not bad for a young man who was pretty much broke until four years ago.

The entertainment age

At first sight, it’s hard to see why a boxing match between a 40-year-old retired fighter and the exclusive US rights to UFC PPV in commercial establishments and have done numerous bo Z


gatherings like SportAccord for several years.“It is difficult to overestimate the

importance of the relationship with EventScotland. It’s absolutely crucial,” Garrett says. “We represent Glasgow, but we see ourselves as part of ‘Team Scotland’. Relationships are critical and we wouldn’t be where we are without the support of our partners.

“We have been discussing our event strategy over the next few years with EventScotland and we will continue to invest in that relationship.”

Through its various channels, EventScotland helps to promote Glasgow, often in partnership with other cities, to interested rights-holders across the sporting spectrum.

One-stop shop

In terms of marketing activations surrounding the events themselves – another area where Glasgow scored highly in the rankings – Glasgow Life provides a comprehensive and tailored approach for domestic and international markets.

Garrett believes this is thanks to a merger

that was announced in 2016 between Glasgow Life and the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.

“Glasgow Life previously worked closely with the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, but now we are a much stronger, seamless organisation,” he says. “When a local organising committee is established for an event, we have everyone we need around the table, including traditional marketers who will focus on domestic ticket sales, as well as those focusing on international markets who will look for channels and routes with the support of agencies.

“So we have all the right skills in place and are able to create a strategy very quickly. Glasgow Life is now a one-stop shop – from selling tickets in Glasgow, to selling to spectators south of the border, to selling packages in mainland China, as we did for the BWF World Badminton Championships.”

Looking to the future, Glasgow is setting itself lofty targets: not only to maintain its standing in the SportBusiness Ultimate Sport Cities rankings after two successive top-five finishes, but also to attract “globally-recognised events”, Garrett says.

“Glasgow remains incredibly ambitious.

We want to stay up there towards the top of the rankings,” he adds. “We have meaningful ambitions between now and 2030 alongside the anchor events in sports like athletics and badminton. For example, just days ago we hosted our first ATP World Tour tennis event.

“There is no complacency and no suggestion in Glasgow that it is mission accomplished. There are major challenges here, as there are in other places, and there are pockets of severe deprivation that are hard to reach. For us, it is about making sure the benefits of creating a culture of physical activity are felt by as many people as possible across the population.”

Garrett says that he and his team have looked at what the competition have been achieving and try to learn from them.

“For example, we have noted with interest what London – which was given the ‘Best Legacy’ award – has been doing to target the least-engaged people and we’re sure there are things that we can learn in a number of areas,” he says. “We have to justify every pound invested in an event. After all, every pound spent there could have been spent elsewhere.” Z

ULTIMATE CITY SPORTS · For the third time in the history of these rankings, London has been named...

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