Some 100 000 footy fans stream into the enormous amphitheatre of the Melbourne Cricket Ground — known locally simply as "The G" — where the most fiercely loyal spectators position themselves behind the goals waving flags and streamers.

The match day atmosphere even permeates the city's Queen Victoria Market where a gruff-voiced butcher cuts his prices as kick-off approaches, imploring customers: "Come on ladies and gents, we've got to get off to the footy!"

In a nation where sport is hard-wired into the psyche from birth, Melbourne, embraces its games with a passion that even other Australians regard as close to obsession.

SportBusiness International magazine this year voted it "ultimate sports city" for the second consecutive year, ahead of 24 other cities including London, Paris, Los Angeles, Tokyo and arch-rival Sydney.

Melbourne's line up of major fixtures was cited as a reason for the award. The city is home to the Australian Open Grand Slam tennis, a Formula One Grand Prix, the Melbourne Cup horse race, cricket's Boxing Day Test and the Australian Rules Grand Final.

In recent years the Victoria state capital has also hosted the Commonwealth Games and the FINA world swimming championships, building on a legacy that stretches back to the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

This translates into big money in an age where sport is an international commodity, with the Victorian government estimating the events attract 230 000 overseas visitors and pump more than $1-billion into the economy annually.

Firms based in Melbourne, Australia's second biggest city with around 3.75 million people, have also found a niche using their experience to advise cities across Asia on hosting major sporting events.

Melbourne's sporting know-how

"Victorian firms in particular have been able to capitalise on their recent experiences with the Melbourne Commonwealth Games when pitching for business internationally," state Premier John Brumby said on a visit to Beijing th\is year, where more than 30 Victorian companies have Olympic-related contracts.

Other sporting events where organisers have tapped into Melbourne's sporting know-how include the Delhi 2010 Commonwealth Games, the 2010 Asian Games in Guangzhou, China, and the 2009 Southeast Asian Games in Laos.

The range of experts available is so extensive that Victorian and NSW authorities have published a 150-page directory listing companies capable of supplying everything from stadium design to plumbing services.

In explaining how a medium-sized city located deep in the southern hemisphere became such a sporting hub, Melbourne Cricket Club librarian David Studham cited the gold rushes of the mid-19th century.

He said gold made Australia one of the British Empire's richest outposts and Melbourne used its wealth to invest in venues such as the 100 000-capacity Flemington racecourse — home of the annual Melbourne Cup, which stops the nation and carries prize money in the millions of dollars —' and to lure top sporting teams to tour.

"When the English cricket team came here in 1861-62 they were quite amazed by the standard of the facilities, if not necessarily the players they were up against," he told AFP.

Studham said Melbourne also had a wealth of sporting stadia within walking distance of the central business district, unlike many other cities where grounds are in outlying suburbs.

These venues include the MCG (100 000 capacity), Docklands (55 000), Olympic Park (18 500), Melbourne Park tennis centre (15 000 centre court) and a new 31 000-seat stadium due to be completed next year.

"The infrastructure is here for almost any type of sporting event," said Studham. "We have the facilities, we have the tradition and we have the weather."

AFP