Paris can rub its hands. A year and a few days before the opening of the Olympic Games in 2024, the French capital wins its first victory. Symbolic, certainly, but always good to take: it dominates theth world ranking of cities most associated with sport, established every year by the BCW agency.
For the first time, Paris takes the lead. Fifth in 2021, second last year, she gained one place. A year ahead of schedule, it takes pole position in a ranking that no longer includes fifty, but now one hundred cities across the planet.
Paris is ahead of two other Summer Olympic cities: Los Angeles, which will follow the French capital by organizing the Games in 2028, and London, host of the event in 2012. The English capital is the only city in the ranking to have never left the podium in the last three years. Second in 2021 – behind New York – it was in third place last year.
To establish its ranking, the BCW agency deployed a two-tier methodology. She interviewed the presidents and general secretaries of international sports federations, surveyed a wide panel of sports industry experts – including event organizers – and sent a questionnaire to more than 300 sports media representatives.
At the same time, the Lausanne-based agency worked on an analysis of the association between sport and a city on social networks, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, but also on Reddit, on specialized blogs and websites.
The result ? It is rich in lessons. Here are the main lessons.
The Games work even before the opening. The first place of Paris, and the second of Los Angeles, demonstrate it easily: the impact of the Olympic and Paralympic event on the sporting image of a city is materialized even before the first competitions. The French capital is reaping the benefits a year in advance. It should, logically, retain its place in the next ranking. Host city of the Summer Games in 2032, Brisbane did not appear in the ranking before the 2023 edition. It made a notable entry in 15th place.
The Games don't always work long after. Another lesson from the ranking: the Olympic flame sometimes goes out very quickly. Pointed at the top of the ranking in 2022, Tokyo tumbles to 8th place. However, the Japanese capital has not definitively drawn a line under the hosting of major sporting events: it will organize the World Athletics Championships in 2025. The phenomenon is even more spectacular in the case of Rio de Janeiro. Host city of the Summer Games in 2016, it is now ranked 74th, after being ranked 27th in 2021, then 45th last year.
The Games work especially in summer. The figures leave little room for doubt: unlike the summer meeting, the Winter Games have a very small effect on the sporting image of a city. Beijing, the latest city to have organized an Olympic event, has not gained much in terms of image: the Chinese capital is only in 24th place. It even fell ten places compared to its ranking in 2021 and 2022. Less than three years before the 2026 Winter Games, Milan remains far from the lead (12th). As for PyeongChang, host city of the Winter Games in 2018, it appears discreetly in 80th place.
The United States remains very strong. Three years before the 2026 World Cup where American stadiums are expected to shine, American cities are playing their numbers. No less than fifteen of them appear in the top 50 of the world ranking established by BCW, including five among the first twenty places (Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Miami and Washington). Their image remains closely linked to sport, but they seem to owe it much more to the media impact of major professional championships (NBA, NFL, MLB, etc.) than to hosting international events.
The World Cup doesn't work well. Less than a year after organizing the 2022 Football World Cup, Qatar remains on the doorstep of the top 10. Doha is only in 11th place. Certainly, the Qatari capital is progressing – it was 32nd in 2021, then 19th last year – but it is struggling to keep pace, despite a succession of international events which will be further enriched next year with the Swimming World Championships. The upward trend also applies to the rest of the Persian Gulf: Dubai enters the top 20 for the first time (19th), Abu Dhabi gains four places (21st), Riyadh enters directly in 65th place.
