New Report Reveals Top 60 Global Sport Cities Dominating the Event Hosting Landscape for Multisport Games and World Championships
Paris was named the number one global sport city for event hosting in a new report by Quantum Consultancy and Durham University Business School. The report, titled “Global Sport Cities & The Olympic Ecosystem”, has unveiled the top 60 cities based upon their hosting of major multisport games and world championships across the sporting ecosystem, giving them prestigious recognition as global sport cities for event hosting.
Paris, France ranks as the number one sports hosting city as it prepares to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games next year, with Budapest, Hungary hosting most events overall during the 2021-2028 period analysed.
Tokyo, Japan ranks as the highest performing city in Asia, whilst Cairo, Egypt features in the top 20 and is the highest ranked city in Africa. Los Angeles, USA, future host of the Olympic and Paralympic Games places ninth and is the highest ranked city in the Americas.
A notable shift in the event hosting landscape sees cities in the Middle East such as Doha, Qatar; Dubai, UAE and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia all make the top 20 list as they each continue to view sport as an important catalyst to unlock tourism, media exposure and social impact potential.
Chengdu, China is one of two Chinese cities to make the top 10 behind Beijing. The city of Chengdu has embarked on an event hosting strategy which includes two large-scale multisport games in quick session with the recently concluded FISU World University Games and The World Games in 2025.
The cities are ranked based on their cumulative event score which considers the number of events a city has hosted or are set to host between 2021 and 2028, as well as the size, scale, and recognition of these events as part of the points-based methodology. The report analysed 355 individual event editions across 95 sports and 156 event properties. In total, 75 host nations and 330 host cities will have hosted this set of pinnacle events between 2021-2028, demonstrating greater diversity in the number and type of destinations hosting these events in comparison with previous years.
The report defines the status of a global sports city and highlights the strategic approach and ambitions of specific cities as they position themselves as distinguished destinations for global sporting events. The scope of research included sport and events rightsholders that are part of SportAccord, the organisation that brings together representatives from more than 125 International Sport Federations affiliated with four umbrella organisations; ASOIF (Association of Summer Olympic International Federations), AIOWF (Association of International Olympic Winter Sports Federations), ARISF (Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations), AIMS (Alliance of Independent Recognised Members of Sport), as well as Associate Members.
The report provides an insightful snapshot of the global sports hosting landscape and underlines the growing competition among cities to attract major events within the Olympic ecosystem, emphasising the strategic investments required to become a prominent global sport city.
About Quantum Consultancy
Quantum Consultancy offers data-driven consultancy solutions to develop strategies and evaluate new and existing products in the sport and entertainment sector. Quantum’s market intelligence and industry insights support clients in optimising strategic and operational improvements which in turn drive greater event impacts and commercial success.