Paris Stays Atop 2024 Ranking of Sports Cities

Paris, on the eve of hosting the 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games, has been named the top sports city for the second consecutive year in Burson’s 2024 Ranking of Sports Cities.

Following Paris in the rankings is 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Summer Games host Los Angeles at No. 2, with New York, London and Madrid rounding out the top five. Lausanne, Manchester, Barcelona, Miami and Washington, D.C., complete the top 10. Along with four U.S. cities in the top 10 there are 14 other cities in the top 50 overall.

“We’ve consistently been amazed by the impact of communication on a city’s reputation as a strong sports city,” said Lars Haue-Pedersen, managing director of sports practice at Burson. “It’s not solely about tangible activities, but largely about communicating a city’s current and future plans. For those cities wishing to enhance their reputation in sport, investing in effective communications can bring significant benefits, perhaps sometimes more than infrastructure development.”

The annual ranking identifies the top 100 cities from around the world with the strongest association with sport based on both perception and in-depth analysis, including feedback from international sports leaders, sports media representatives and industry experts, as well as social media analytics. Debuting on this year’s list are Cortina d’Ampezzo, which will host the 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, at No. 82 along with No. 86 Quebec City, No. 91 Edinburgh, No. 92 Rabat, Morocco, and No. 96 Warsaw.

While hosting mega-events like the Olympic provides a boost to a city’s sports reputation, the impact tends to fade rapidly; Tokyo has dropped from first in 2022, one year after having hosted the Games, to today’s 13th place. Meanwhile, Salt Lake City (ranked 33), Riyadh (ranked 42) and New Delhi (ranked 75) have seen substantial improvements in their rankings. Salt Lake City, prospective host of the 2034 Winter Games, jumped 30 spots this year while Riyadh was up 33 spots and New Delhi jumped 13 spots.

Four U.S. cities in the top 25 — Miami, Washington, No. 15 Las Vegas and No. 24 Houston — were not on the list in 2022. Miami and Washington each made the biggest jumps into the top 10 at seven spots apiece while Beijing went up 13 spots to No. 11.

2024 Ranking of Sports Cities

1. Paris
2. Los Angeles
3. New York
4. London
5. Madrid
6. Lausanne
7. Manchester
8. Barcelona
9. Miami
10. Washington
Other U.S. Cities
12. Chicago
15. Las Vegas
23. Dallas
24. Houston
26. Boston
28. Philadelphia
29. Atlanta
33. Salt Lake City
36. Denver
39. Detroit
41. San Francisco
45. Colorado Springs
48. Indianapolis
50. Cleveland