London wins battle of the global city brands again...

...but the capital still has plenty of work to do ifit wants to keep that crown

- JONATHAN PRYNN

First the good news: London’s brand is still the strongest of any city in the world, a nose ahead of its nearest challengers New York and Paris.

And now the bad news: Its rating has slipped this year, putting the capital in danger in being overhauled by one its great traditional rivals, or the rising conurbations of the Gulf and Asia. London, for all its enormous strengths and global popularity, cannot afford to rest on its laurels.

The 2024 edition of the Global City Index from brand evaluation and strategy consultancy Brand Finance shows London, though still enjoying an enviable reputation the world over, scored particularly badly on crime, bureaucracy, personal taxation and, worst of all, cost of living.

The index ranked 100 major cities around the world, from Abu Dhabi to Zurich, based on survey results from more than 15,000 people from 20 countries spanning all continents.

They were asked to fill in a scorecard on a broad spectrum of characteristics ranging from culture to crime, even the weather. London’s overall rating, 90.9 out of 100, was down 1.4 points on 2023, but still just ahead of the Big Apple on 89.8, and the City of Light on 87.8.