Britain's Sportiest Cities Revealed

by Shabana Adam | 19 July 2012

How important is sports to you and your city?

Bristol is the sportiest city in the UK, Belfast the least and our nation’s capital, London, ranks only seventh out of the 10 major UK cities surveyed. AECOM, who masterminded the design and planning of the London Games, polled UK adults from 10 key cities to discover how many consider themselves to be “sporty”.

Sport may be flavour of the month, but AECOM’s Sport Report shows that the majority of Brits, over half, claim that sport is not important to them. Women in particular appear most indifferent with merely 33 per cent claiming it’s important, compared to 56 per cent of men who say sport is an important part of their life.

"...women in particular, do not claim sport is an important part of their lives. However, they seem keen for more opportunity to get involved in sport and recognise the fantastic benefits it can bring

Yet with a year filled with sporting excitement, over half of major UK city dwellers agree that their city needs more sporting venues and facilities, with 86 per cent of the nation saying such assets bring benefit to the city they live in.

Two thirds of Brits say they would use nearby sports facilities if they were available and more than two thirds of Britons believe a benefit of such venues is to encourage healthier living, followed by job creation, and boosting the local economy. One in three people believe major sporting venues help strengthen community spirit and instil a healthy competitive spirit.

Belfast is the keenest city for more sporting ventures, with 73 per cent agreeing their city needs more facilities, followed by Bristol (71 per cent) and Liverpool (66 per cent). Cardiff and Manchester are most content with their current assets by comparison, with a lesser 28 per cent and 29 per cent, respectively, suggesting their city currently needs more major sporting venues.

Jason Prior, CEO of AECOM’s sports division, said: “Our findings show that Britons and women in particular, do not claim sport is an important part of their lives. However, they seem keen for more opportunity to get involved in sport and recognise the fantastic benefits it can bring to a community.”

As a major example of the benefits sporting venues can bring, thus far 30,000 people have worked on the London Olympic Park Project and, at its peak construction period, a quarter of the workers were from the five host boroughs. In addition, 75p in every £1 of the budget is being spent on legacy plan delivery and the regeneration of East London.

Jason added: “Our own work certainly endorses this claim, and through our experience working on the events and facilities for the 2012 games and other projects across the globe, we have seen the direct socio-economic benefits that sporting assets bring to a city.”

Sportiest City:

1. Bristol (53% sporty)

2. Birmingham (48%)

3. Liverpool (47%)

4. Newcastle (45%), Leeds (45%)

6. Cardiff (44%)

7. London (42%)

8. Glasgow (39%)

9. Manchester (37%)

10. Belfast (29%)

The sports British cities say they most want to be known for are:

1. Football (33%)