A hat-trick for Melbourne: World's Ultimate Sports City
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28 April 2010
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Melbourne’s reputation as the world’s sporting capital has been reaffirmed, with the city taking out the top gong for hosting major international sporting events for the third consecutive time.
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Melbourne was last night named the world’s Ultimate Sports City ahead of Singapore, London, Berlin and Sydney at the SportAccord Convention in Dubai.
This is a hat-trick for Melbourne, having won the coveted biennial title in 2006 and 2008.
Rachael Church-Sanders from Ultimate Sports Cities 2010 congratulated Melbourne for its strong track record for hosting major annual sporting events.
“The city’s excellent facilities, strong government support, exceptional legacy planning, not to mention fabulous weather make it a worthy winner once again,” Ms Church-Sanders said.
The 25 finalists for the title were ranked by the number of annual sports events hosted or secured between 2006 and 2014, plus additional criteria including transport, government support, public interest and quality of life.
Victorian Sports Minister James Merlino said: “Victorians love their sport and this award once again confirms what Victorians have known for a long time – we are the sporting capital of the world.
“We are proud to support major sporting events that place Melbourne and Victoria in the national and international spotlight, promote sport, encourage investment and boost tourism in our state.
“And we have a calendar of sporting events that is envied worldwide – from the Australian Open Tennis, Formula 1 Grand Prix, AFL season and final series, to the Boxing Day Test, Spring Racing Carnival and Australian Masters Golf,” he said.
The UCI Road World Championships are also set to be held in Victoria this year, with The Presidents Cup coming to Melbourne in 2011, the first time a city outside the US has hosted the event twice.
Mr Merlino said works on a $363 million redevelopment of Melbourne Park and a $30 million upgrade to the Melbourne Cricket Ground will begin shortly.
Melbourne’s $267.5 million purpose-built rectangular stadium, AAMI Park, is set to open on Friday 7 May.
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