Auckland has finished second behind London at the 2012 International Sports Event Management awards after the successful hosting of last year's Rugby World Cup.
No one was ever going to beat London, who put on an incredibly successful Olympic Games this year, but Auckland finished ahead of other major event cities like Melbourne (which finished third), Copenhagen, Dusseldorf, Glasgow and Manchester.
The Rugby World Cup was the main event held in Auckland during the judging period but the city also hosted the ITU World Cup triathlon event, Champions Trophy hockey tournament, Volvo Ocean Race and Rally of New Zealand.
Held annually and now in its sixth year, the ISEM awards are the only international awards to recognise excellence in the global sports event management industry. The results were announced his morning (NZT) at a black tie event in London.
"To say that we've placed second behind the city that hosted one of the most successful Olympics ever is absolutely phenomenal,'' said Jennah Wootten, acting general manager destination of Auckland Tourism, Events and Economic Development. "We've also beaten the city we consider to be our main competitor in Australasia, which is huge for us, too.''
