Sport in London

London has scored the title of Ultimate Sports City 2014 in a ranking that looks at the world’s best cities for hosting sporting events.

It’s the second consecutive time that the British capital has taken the title in SportsBusiness International's Ultimate Sports Cities Awards. Nor is it a particularly surprising win with the city coming off a successful 2012 Olympic Games.

The ranking is compiled every two years by the group, which specializes in the business of sports.

In addition to being named the overall winner, London also took awards in categories like Best Hosting, Best Public Sports Interest, and Best Marketing and Branding.

Auckland, New Zealand also emerged a big winner in the 2014 edition of the awards, taking four awards including Best Sports City in the category of medium population; Best Legacy; Best Security and Best Home-Grown Event for its two-day rugby tournament, the Auckland NRL Nine.

Cities are evaluated based on sporting events between 2010 to 2018, as well as factors like venues, transport and infrastructure, accommodation, event strategy, government and public support, legacy, quality of life, security and marketing.

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Euro 2020: Wembley or Munich's Allianz Arena to host final
BBC News
26 April 2014

Either Wembley or Munich's Allianz Arena will host the final and both semi-finals of Euro 2020 says Uefa.

European football's governing body will choose between the venues on 19 September.

As well as bidding to stage the climax of the 24-team tournament, the Football Association has put London forward for three group-stage games and a match from the last 16 or quarter-finals.

Wales and Scotland have bid for matches in Cardiff and Glasgow respectively.

Scottish Football Association chief Stewart Regan said earlier in the week that it was "highly unlikely" there would be four winning bids from the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland, which will also submitted a bid on Friday.

Both Scotland and Wales have applied to host group-stages matches and a last-16 tie.

With the tournament to be hosted across 13 European cities, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Israel and Macedonia are among candidate nations who have never hosted a major tournament.

But only England and Germany are in the running for the semi-finals and final after Turkey withdrew to focus on a bid to be sole hosts of Euro 2024.

Wembley hosted Champions League finals in 2011 and 2013 and was the venue at which Germany beat the Czech Republic in the final of Euro 1996.

Since the completion of its redevelopment in 2007, it now holds 90,000 spectators, compared with 71,137 at Allianz Arena, home of Bundesliga and European champions Bayern Munich.

"We are extremely happy to have received so many bids to host Euro 2020," said Uefa president Michel Platini.

"The 60th year anniversary edition of the tournament will be a historic one, with matches played in many European countries."

A number of the 32 countries who initially registered an interest have dropped out of the running, including Portugal, Poland and the Czech Republic.

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SE9 said:

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Langur said:

Wilson Kipsang's amazing. When he broke that tape, he set a new course record for the London Marathon (2:04:29) and he also set the all-time world record in last year's Berlin Marathon (2:03:23). Kenyan runners have won nine of the last twelve London Marathons, with the other three wins going to Ethiopians.

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Anniversary Games take to streets of London
Sky Sports
5 May 2014

The Anniversary Games will take to the streets of London this year at Horse Guards Parade Ground and The Mall.

The landmarks will stage pole vault, long jump and shot put competitions and track races over two sessions in front of a crowd of 20,000 on July 20.

The event, which commemorates the anniversary of the opening ceremony of the 2012 London Olympics, took place at the Olympic Stadium last year.

But the stadium will be undergoing redevelopment this summer and the exact date of the anniversary - 27 July - is unavailable because it clashes with the start of the athletics programme at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.

Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, said: "Last year's sell-out Sainsbury's Anniversary Games were yet another great example of how London is now a natural home for international sport.

"This year's return is a golden opportunity to see our Olympic and Paralympic superstars in action set against the spectacular backdrop of Horse Guards Parade Ground and The Mall in St James's Park."

Olympic long jump champion Greg Rutherford, who last month set a new British record of 8.51 metres, will compete in the event.

Helping to launch it, he said: "It's a great place to be and I think it's going to be incredibly special to hold the Sainsbury's Anniversary Games here.

"It's one of the most iconic parts of London and you just have to look at the backdrop of Horse Guards to see the London Eye and just around the corner we've the Queen sipping on her tea.

"By the time I come to compete, I will be in the best shape of the year and I'll be looking to jump far here."

Horse Guards Parade was spectacular success as a venue during the Olympics, providing a dramatic setting for the beach volleyball.

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LAYiddo said:

Impressive amount of stadiums back home. Most in one city over 10,000 capacity wordwide:-

https://scontent-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpf1/t1.0-9/10398659_10152455588231416_8876938721441960725_n.jpg[IMG]

This list has 21 though!

London: 21

Wembley Stadium 90,000
Twickenham Stadium 82,000
Emirates Stadium 60,000
Olympic Stadium 54,000
Stamford Bridge 42,449
White Hart Lane 36,301
Boleyn Ground 35,056
Lord's Cricket Ground 28,000
The Valley 27,111
Selhurst Park 26,309
Craven Cottage 24,510
Brit Oval (The Oval) 23,000
The New Den 20,146
Loftus Road 19,148
The O2 (Millennium Dome) 16,500
Crystal Palace Stadium 15,500
Matchroom Stadium 13,842
Wimbledon Centre Court 13,810
Griffin Park 12,763
Stoop Memorial Ground 12,500
Wimbledon Number 1 Court 11,429
London Arena 10,000[/QUOTE]

The O2 seats 20,000 :cool:

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