Auckland won three awards at the ‘Sportbusiness Ultimate Sports Cities Awards’ 2016 held on April 20, 2016.
The City was also ranked fourth on the world list, behind New York, London and Melbourne.
Auckland was named ‘Best Medium Sports City’ (1.3 million to 3 million) for the second consecutive year, as well as received awards for ‘Best Events Strategy’ and ‘Best Security.
The results were announced at the Sport Accord Convention in Lausanne, Switzerland, with 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.
Tough competition
Auckland was competing in the biennial awards against other great international sporting cities including Calgary, Copenhagen, Glasgow, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, New York and Tokyo.
Auckland Mayor Len Brown said that it was 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,” he said.
Mr Brown said that Aucklanders have seen first-hand how events can transform a city, with The Rugby World Cup (2011), ICC Cricket World Cup (2015) and FIFA U20 World Cup (2016).
Global events
“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,” Mr Brown said.
Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development (ATEED) Chief Executive Brett O’Riley described the Awards as ‘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,” he said.
Good recognition
“It is 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,” Mr O’Reily said.
Sport Business Ultimate Sports Cities Awards and Rankings Chief Judge and Founder Rachael Church said: “The stunning city of Auckland is a deserved winner of all of the awards it has received in the 2016 edition of Sport Business 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.”
Supplied Content (Edited)
Photo :
- FIFA U-20 World Cup 2015
- ITM 500 Auckland V8 Supercars
Pictures Courtesy: Auckland Council
