Overall, Sydney is doing well at some things, and poorly at others. Let’s start where we are doing well:


·         Sport & leisure pursuits
·         Contemporary architecture & design
·         Gender tolerance
·         Music scene, plus arts & culture

Sport & leisure infrastructure
No surprises here, with a smorgasbord of successful sporting teams across various codes and harbour, an abundance of parks and envious outdoor lifestyle. Sydney came in clear first place (40%) when it comes to being recognised for our sports and leisure infrastructure.  This was streets ahead of Tokyo, which was 10 points behind with 30%.  Seoul and Singapore came in joint third place. Interestingly (not in the report) but Western Sydney Wanderers recently won the Asian Champions League final so our dominance in this position is likely to only grow in influence, with the A-League crowds being at record levels and the Sydney derby attracting selling out stadiums.
 
Contemporary architecture & design
With gems such as the world famous Opera House, Sydney has topped the table for contemporary architecture and design (42%), coming just one point above Tokyo (42%) and then Singapore (31%).
Not in the report but it will be interesting to see how major new developments earmarked for Sydney will impact on this, such Barangaroo’s shimmering skyscrapers and exclusive Crown Casino, which are currently being built along the famous waterfront.  
 
Gender tolerance
Sydney topped the table when it came to gender tolerance with 31%.  We came ahead Bangkok (27%), which came in at second place, and Singapore (32%). 
While this should be celebrated, men still dominate many of the city’s board rooms so more work is to be done.
 
Music
Sydney came in first place here with 34%, ahead of Tokyo (famous home of J-Pop) and Seoul (home to K-Pop). This was somewhat surprising given that Sydney has famously lost some of its most famous live music venues over the years (including the Hopetoun in Surry Hills – home to many upcoming bands during the 80s and 90s).  Meanwhile, other famous live venues such as the Annandale have battled to keep their doors open over the last few years. Earlier this year, even a police chief said that our live music scene was dead – blaming alcohol.
  
On the other hand, the above examples are more in the vein of indie music.  When it comes to big sounds, Sydney is home to huge music festivals such as Future Music, Stereosonic, and Big Day Out. With ample stadiums, the city also attracts a plethora of A-list acts. Meanwhile, major events like the Sydney festival attract tens of thousands of people to a major program of live music and entertainment. The report also showed that Sydney came did well when it came to our arts & culture (coming in 2nd place behind Tokyo).
 
Where we lag behind:
 
·         Food, culinary and dining
·         News media
·         Social media & digital technology

 
Food, culinary and dining experiences
Simply put, our culinary delights have left a bad taste in the mouth of those surveyed, as we come in last place (16%), a point behind Kuala Lumpur (17%).  Singapore came in third last but leaving a fairly large gulf of 9 points ahead of KL (26%).
  
 
News & Media influence
Our news media was not seen as particularly influential, with Sydney coming in third worst (tying with Shanghai – not exactly home to a free press at 21%).  This put us ahead of Bangkok at 14% and Kuala Lumpur, which languished at the bottom with just 11%.
This comes despite the global reach of News Corp and Fairfax, along with the fact that English is, without competition, our first language.
 
Social media influence
Sydney came in third worst here (despite being high users of social media), with 15%.  We can ahead of Bangkok (8%) and Kuala Lumpur (7%).