21 April 2016

Auckland wins at Ultimate Sports Cities Awards

Auckland named Best Medium Sports City and ranked fourth overall

Auckland continues to make its mark on the global stage as an international events city, winning three awards at the 2016 SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Cities Awards and being ranked fourth overall in the world.

Auckland was named Best Medium Sports City (1.3 million to 3 million) for the second time running, as well as securing awards for Best Events Strategy and Best Security. Auckland is also ranked fourth overall, behind New York, London and Melbourne.

The results were announced last night at the SportAccord Convention in Lausanne, Switzerland, the annual international event focusing on connecting sports events rights holders, organising committees, host cities, media, businesses and other organisations involved in the development of sport.

Auckland was competing in the biennial awards alongside other great international sporting cities including Calgary, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, New York and Tokyo.

Mayor Len Brown says it is great to see Auckland continuing to feature amongst the world’s best sporting cities.

“Hosting major events showcases Auckland to the world, giving people a reason to visit, to stay longer and to experience more of what we have to offer. It brings benefits that extend beyond the duration of the events themselves, boosting our sporting organisations, local businesses and regional amenities.

“Aucklanders have seen first-hand how events can transform a city, with events like RWC 2011 and last year’s ICC Cricket World Cup and FIFA U-20 World Cup.

“We know the World Masters Games and British and Irish Lions Tour coming up next year will bring tens of thousands of visitors and an economic boost to Auckland. These all help to showcase Auckland as a great place to live, work and visit.”

Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) Chief Executive Brett O’Riley says: “This is recognition for the region-wide team effort that is required to host major sporting events.

“Auckland is regularly recognised for its joined-up approach to delivering great events, with ATEED working closely with event organisers and sponsors, event partners like sporting federations, city agencies and our council family, volunteers, our communities, and central government.

“It’s also recognition that Auckland’s Major Events Strategy is returning great results for Auckland, but there is always room for improvement. We are now halfway through the strategy’s 10-year scope and ATEED is updating the strategy to make sure it continues to deliver results for the developing region and population, and delivers broader results for the investment in major events ATEED makes on behalf of Auckland Council.”

SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Cities Awards and Rankings head judge and founder, Rachael Church says: "The stunning city of Auckland is a deserved winner of all of the awards it has received in the 2016 edition of SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Cities – Best Medium Sports City, Best Events Strategy and Best Security.

“The city scored highly in many categories and impressed the judges with its strong and transparent major events strategy in particular and its successful policy of creating home-grown events.

“Auckland is a city with engagement at its core when it comes to sports events - whether between the city and stakeholders, the city and participants or the city and its visitors - everyone is made to feel that they are at the heart of sport in Auckland."

· In 2014, the last time these biennial awards were made, Auckland was named the third best sporting city in the world, ranking after London and Melbourne. In 2014, Copenhagen and Calgary made up the rest of the top five.

· Also in 2014, Auckland was named top medium-sized sporting city in the world, beating Paris, Kuala Lumpur, Dubai and Copenhagen. It won the categories for best event legacy, security and homegrown event for the Dick Smith NRL Auckland Nines.

· Since Auckland’s Major Events Strategy was implemented, capability in the local events industry has grown considerably and ATEED-sponsored major events have exceeded their targets, contributing $204 million to the regional economy and generating 1,265,000 visitor nights for the city.

· ATEED’s 2016/17 major events portfolio includes 27 events, ranging from the much anticipated World Masters Games 2017, Auckland matches in the British and Irish Lions Tour, NRL Auckland Nines and ITM Auckland Supersprint V8 Supercars to Pasifika, New Zealand Fashion Week, Auckland Writers Festival and the inaugural New Zealand Flower & Garden Show.

· The highly successful 2014/15 major events season, which included the ICC Cricket World Cup, FIFA U-20 World Cup and the Volvo Ocean Race Auckland Stopover returned $85 million to the regional economy and generated 426,500 visitor nights.

· A global panel of international expert judges assessed data covering the following categories for the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports Cities Awards: Hosting, Venues, Transport and Infrastructure, Accommodation, Event Strategy, Legacy, Quality of Life, Public Support/Tourism, Security and Marketing/Promotional Ability/Branding.

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