Melbourne the ‘events’ city

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After being named most liveable city for the third time in a row (Staff, 2014) Melbourne is definitely having a moment. However can the most liveable city also be the most sports mad? The Ultimate Sports City has been won by Melbourne “on three occasions – 2006, 2008 and 2010” (Heenan & Dustan, 2014) and once again Melbourne is on the shortlist of 5 for the bi-annual award given by Sport Business (SportBusiness Group, 2014). The purpose of this essay is to justify this award and Melbourne’s position within the global sports market, this will be substantiated by studying the amount of Global Sporting Events that Melbourne holds, the Location of Sporting Arenas in relation to another highly regarded sports city, London, as well as taking into account attendance rates and how sport stimulates Melbourne’s economy.

Events
Just looking at the sheer amount of international level sport played in Melbourne it is undeniable that it would be a competitive contender for the Ultimate Sports City award once again. Almost every second month there is something big happening in Melbourne. With the “Australian Open played each January, the Australian Football League Grand Final played annually in September, and the Spring Racing Carnival run in October and November, all contribute to the promotion of Melbourne and Victoria as premier sporting locations to potential tourists” (Gamage & Higgs, p.16). This is not even including the International Cricket played at the MCG over Australian Summer or the Grand Prix run at Albert Park every March.

Location
One of Melbourne’s draw cards as an events city is the close proximity of the sporting grounds and arenas to the city centre. “The particular location of a sports field will enhance or diminish its ...

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...the quality of life. Environmental Health Perspectives, 113 (2), pp. 143--148.
O'hanlon, S. 2009. The Events City: Sport, Culture, and the Transformation of Inner Melbourne, 1977-2006. Urban History Review/Revue d'histoire urbaine, 37 (2).
SportBusiness Group. 2014. Five cities shortlisted for Ultimate Sports City Award. [online] Available at: http://www.sportbusiness.com/sportbusiness-international/five-cities-shortlisted-ultimate-sports-city-award [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].
Staff, C. 2014. Melbourne makes it three years in a row as world's most liveable city. [online] Available at: http://edition.cnn.com/2013/08/28/travel/melbourne-most-livable-city/ [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].
Tom Heenan, D. D. 2014. Melbourne: The Ultimate Sports City. [online] Available at: http://www.backpagelead.com.au/index.php/afl/12069-melbourne-the-ultimate-sports-city [Accessed: 21 Mar 2014].

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