Waterford makes it into top 20 European cities

WATERFORD has beaten a host of big cities, including Dublin, to be named among the top 20 in Europe.

According to fDi magazine’s 2008 Cities of the Future shortlist, which is published by the Financial Times, Waterford city has been placed in 19th position in the overall survey, with Dublin coming in at 21st position and Belfast at 34th spot.

Waterford also managed to win the top spot in a list of Europe’s micro-cities, beating locations such as Baden Baden in Germany and Bath and Barnsley in Britain.

The top 10 list of the most business-friendly cities or regions placed Dublin in 6th spot, with the nation’s capital taking second place in the quality-of-life list.

In a list of the top 25 regions, Galway came in at 15th, Limerick 19th and Wicklow at 20th spot.

In terms of a location’s ability to attract foreign-direct investment, Waterford came in at 15th and the north was placed 20th.

Mayor of Waterford city Cllr Mary O’Halloran said: “We are proud to be the 15th most attractive base for foreign direct investment in Europe — ahead of all other Irish cities.

“But with global economies showing pressures, it is imperative that we do everything we can to safeguard our position into the future — improve it even.”

The overall top five locations are London, Paris, Berlin, Copenhagen and Amsterdam.