Melbourne, which also won the coveted title in 2006, will once again be challenged by Australian rival Sydney, as well as Beijing, Berlin, Istanbul, London, Madrid, Moscow, Paris and Vancouver, all of which were contenders in both 2006 and 2008.
Doha returns from the 2008 edition, as do Shanghai, Valencia and Budapest. Chicago, New York, Rio de Janeiro and Rome all return to the shortlist after a four-year absence, having failed to make the cut in 2008.
Seven cities appearing on the shortlist for the first time are Dubai, Glasgow, Johannesburg, Lausanne, Manchester, Monte Carlo and Singapore.
The ‘SportBusiness Ultimate Sport Cities Awards’ are the internationally recognised rankings of the world’s top sports hosts. Initiated by independent industry consultant Rachael Church-Sanders in 2006, the 2010 awards will be the third time the recognition has been given. Cities are selected based on SportBusiness’ extensive database and knowledge of sports events and the destinations that host them.
The shortlist was comprised by analysing the locations of over 2,000 sports events and federations globally between 2006 and 2014 and awarding points according to the importance of the event or federation.
Criteria for Final Awards
As in the past, the shortlisted cities will be further evaluated according to the size and volume of events they have hosted between 2006 and 2014 alongside a range of other criteria including:
- stadia and venues
- transport and infrastructure
- government and public support
- legacy
- quality of life
- marketing/promotional ability
- testimonials/experiences of event personnel.
To reflect the number of smaller cities aspiring to host major sports events, SportBusiness has introduced new size bands this year enabling awards to be made to cities with populations of 1m or below, between 1m and 3.5m, between 3.5m and 7m and finally, 7m or above.
The final results will be announced at the SportAccord Convention in Dubai next month and the prize of Ultimate Sports City 2010 will be presented to the winning city.
Final Shortlist for Ultimate Sports Cities 2010 (in alphabetical order)
- Beijing
- Berlin
- Budapest
- Chicago
- Doha
- Dubai
- Glasgow
- Istanbul
- Johannesburg
- Lausanne
- London
- Madrid
- Manchester
- Melbourne
- Monte Carlo
- Moscow
- New York
- Paris
- Rio de Janeiro
- Rome
- Shanghai
- Singapore
- Sydney
- Valencia
- Vancouver
For further details about The SportBusiness Ultimate Sport Cities Awards 2010, contact Stuart Lewis at Stuart.Lewis@sportbusiness.com.
To supply information or views on any of the shortlisted cities, please contact Rachael Church-Sanders on rchurch@sportbusiness.com.
