• City rises two places to number 31 in the global list of sporting cities
  • Birmingham is the only UK destination to increase its ranking since 2023
  • Urban Sports FISE Experience and Kabaddi World Cup among the big sporting events coming to the West Midlands

Birmingham has climbed two places to 31st in the 2024 Ranking of Sports Cities, released by global communications agency Burson.

The annual ranking identifies the top 100 cities around the world with the strongest association with sport, based on perception and feedback by sports leaders, industry experts and social media analytics.

Birmingham is the only UK city to improve its position compared to 2023, and also overtakes previous Summer Olympic host cities Berlin and Melbourne, and 2022 Football World Cup host Doha.

Last April, Birmingham and the West Midlands welcomed more than 1,700 high-profile sporting attendees from 65 different countries at the SportAccord World & Business Summit 2024. Against the backdrop of what many described as the busiest and most successful SportAccord ever, high-calibre participants in the summit’s conference programme included Epic Games Vice President and Co-Founder Mark Rein; UK Sport Chair Dame Katherine Grainger; and Olympic Broadcasting Services CEO Yannis Exarchos.

Birmingham and the West Midlands hosted the largest multi-sport event in England in the last decade when it welcomed the world to the 2022 Commonwealth Games, an event which contributed £1.2 billion to the UK economy and £79.5 million in social value, driving trade and inward investment, creating jobs and boosting tourism.

Since the Games, the region has successfully hosted events including the British Open squash – the first time it has returned to the city for over two decades – The Ashes, IBSA World Games, World Trampoline Championships, YONEX All England Badminton Championships, and the Aquatics GB Diving Championships at the new Sandwell Aquatics Centre.

Still to come in 2024, the West Midlands welcomes the British Masters golf (28 August – 1 September), Action Sports FISE Experience (13-15 September), T20 Blast Finals Day (14 September) and Grand Slam of Darts.

In early 2025, the first Kabaddi World Cup to take place outside Asia will be hosted in the West Midlands, with Wolverhampton welcoming the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final in March.

The European Athletics Championships (August 2026) and UEFA Euro 2028 at Villa Park (June-July 2028) are among the future sporting highlights in the West Midlands, as the region continues to show its expertise in hosting high-profile events and its growing reputation as the heart of sport in the UK.

For more information about the region’s sporting offer, visit here.