Olympic and Paralympic host Paris moves top of BCW sports city ranking

Paris has moved above Tokyo to the top of the BCW ranking of global cities most associated with sport ©Getty Images

Next year’s Olympic and Paralympic Games host city Paris has moved top of Burson Cohn & Wolfe’s (BCW) ranking of global cities most associated with sports.

Paris moved above the Japanese capital Tokyo, which hosted the delayed Olympics and Paralympics in 2021, in this year’s Ranking of Sports Cities report by the communications agency, which takes into account an analysis of cities’ digital footprint and a survey of International Federation officials and sports media members.

The French capital is due to host the Olympic Games from July 26 to August 11 next year, followed by the Paralympic Games from August 28 to September 8.

The Stade de France, an athletics and rugby sevens venue for Paris 2024, is also due to host the men’s Rugby World Cup final in October this year.

It stepped in to stage last year’s men’s UEFA Champions League Final after Saint-Petersburg in Russia was stripped of its hosting rights, although the match was marred by the chaotic mismanagement of the occasion by the French authorities.

The 2028 Olympics and Paralympics host Los Angeles has climbed two places to second, with 2012 host London staying third.

New York and Manchester complete the top five, and are followed by Madrid and Barcelona.

Tokyo has slipped to eighth, amid the growing bribery and bid-rigging scandals connected to the 2020 Olympics and Paralympics.

Lausanne and Budapest complete the top 10, with Doha rising to 11th after Qatar’s staging of the controversial men’s FIFA World Cup last year.

Milan stays 12th three years before it stages the Winter Olympics and Paralympics with Cortina d’Ampezzo, and the 2032 Summer Olympics and Paralympics host city Brisbane has made the list for the first time at 15th.

The hosts of the last two Winter Games have slipped down the rankings – Beijing from 14th to 24th and Pyeongchang from 47th to 80th, while 2016 Olympics and Paralympics host Rio de Janeiro has dropped from 45th to 74th.

No Russian or Belarusian cities have been included in the ranking, which has expanded from the top 50 to the top 100 for the first time.

BCW said its results showed “the path to victory lies in seizing the moment before major events rather than after”, and demonstrated that “maintaining a prominent position requires continuous effort and innovation”.

Tokyo has slipped from first to eighth in the city rankings which BCW said showed

Tokyo has slipped from first to eighth in the city rankings which BCW said showed “maintaining a prominent position requires continuous effort and innovation” ©Getty Images

It added it proved the importance of forging partnerships with “renowned sports brands, such as the Olympics, FIFA, and major professional leagues”.

“This year’s ranking reveals that there are no quick fixes or shortcuts to success,” BCW Sports managing director Lars Haue-Pedersen said.

“The top-ranked cities are those that have integrated sports events into their strategies, capturing the public’s attention well in advance of their events and forging partnerships with the biggest sports brands.

“The extensive work invested in this annual ranking is a proof to our commitment to the industry, and we are delighted to contribute to the ongoing discussion on how sports events play a vital role in enhancing a city’s global perception.”

The bottom five cities – Asian Games host Hangzhou, Kigali, Aarhus, Tallinn and Gwangju – are set to be replaced by Cortina d’Ampezzo, Warsaw, Quebec City, Rabat and Edinburgh for the 2023 ranking.

A quantitative digital footprint analysis of the association between sport and a city is responsible for 50 per cent of the ranking, with the survey responses from International Federation officials and sports media members each accounting for 25 per cent.

By Patrick Burke