Paris has lost its number one spot. The host city of the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games has been dethroned by Los Angeles in the new ranking of sporting cities, compiled by the Burson agency. Boosted by the Knicks' NBA championship and the FIFA World Cup, New York has climbed two places, having been third in the ranking in 2025. Paris is second and Los Angeles third: the top three remain the same as in 2025, although the order has changed.
London, Madrid, Barcelona, Milan, Lausanne, Munich and Manchester complete the top 10The United States is strongly represented with seven cities in the top 20. Of particular note is the breakthrough of Budapest, which recently hosted the World Athletics Ultimate Championship and moved from 42nd to 15th place. Dakar is also experiencing a meteoric rise moving from 80th to 47th place, even before the Youth Olympic Games.
Shanghai (41st) and Baku (59th) both gained 22 positions compared to 2025. Strong progress is also recorded for Rio de Janeiro (23rd, ten places gained), Atlanta (28th, +12 places), San Francisco (33rd, +12 places) and Vancouver (35th, +14 places). Three French cities are ranked Paris is in second place, followed by Lyon (56th), a future Olympic city for the 2030 Winter Games, and Marseille (76th). Switzerland has as many cities in the top 100 with Lausanne (8th), Zurich (49th), and Geneva (67th). Canada has seven: Toronto (17th), Vancouver (35th), Edmonton (44th), Montreal (52nd), Ottawa (71st), Calgary (77th), and Quebec City (81st). Unsurprisingly, the USA dominates with 21 cities in the top 100.
