The Big Mango (Cairo) makes the Big Apple (New York) look like the Big Sleep
Malaga is Europe's most 24-hour city, Madrid its most 24-hour capital, Spanish cities dominate world top 10.
Cairo, the strife-torn capital of Egypt, is today named "the world's most 24-hour city" by a global study of the planet's most round-the-clock metropolises.
But New York, famed as "the city that never sleeps", ranks just 32nd, well behind London, Paris, Rome and an embarrassingly long list of other cities.
The first global ranking of the world's "most 24-hour" - as in "most nocturnal" - cities, is based on analysing 120 million online chats and flirts made over two months on Badoo (www.badoo.com), the world's largest social network for meeting new people, with 122 million users across 180 countries.
Badoo's study finds that online chatting and flirting in Cairo peak at nearly 1am, a full three hours later than in New York.
"Our figures suggest that New Yorkers are climbing into bed at around the time that their Cairo counterparts are preparing to go out", says Lloyd Price, Badoo's Director of Marketing. "This will confirm the fears of those who say that New York, the city that once defined urban buzz, has grown sterile and sleepy."
Malaga, on Spain's Costa del Sol, is named Europe's most 24-hour city, while Madrid (6th globally) is Europe's most 24-hour capital, ahead of Brussels (11th), Istanbul (12th), Belgrade (14th) and Lisbon (15th).
London beats Paris but ranks just 17th globally. Paris places 18th, Rome 27th and Moscow 31st.
Cairo edges Montevideo, capital of Uruguay, into second in the global rankings. Beirut, capital of the Lebanon, ranks third and Malaga fourth. Spanish cities make up six of the world top 10.
Badoo's rankings are based on its own "Nocturnal Index" for each city. This combines measurement of peak times for chatting and flirting with a "Night/Day Ratio", comparing online activity levels by night and by day.
Like Cairo and London, almost all the cities in Badoo's world top 20 register more online activity at night - defined as 7pm to 7am - than by day. New York is among cities that register the opposite.
No-one, meanwhile, could accuse Cairo, a seething city of some 17 million, of being sterile or sleepy. Cairo residents ("Cairenes") go out until one or two am, then have something to eat or hit an Internet café and use social networking sites to check who's around.
There's a rush-hour between two and four am, when most of the night-clubs and many bars close.
But Cairo's nocturnal lifestyle is not just a matter of the young clubbing the night away. At midnight in many a brightly lit Cairo neighbourhood, the streets buzz with friends sharing a shisha [syrupy tobacco] at a local café, or, indeed, families and children out shopping, playing or strolling.
While Cairo can pride itself on its nocturnal buzz, especially in areas like Zamalek, known for its nightlife, Cairo's status as the true city that never sleeps is not entirely a cause for celebration.
The fact is that many Cairenes get less sleep than they need.
"Studies estimate that some five million people in Cairo - almost a third of the population - suffer from a sleeping disorder", says Jailan Zayan, a Cairo journalist and author of the book Egypt - Culture Smart!: The Essential Guide to Customs and Culture. "Sleep problems result from factors including stress, unemployment and Cairo s notorious noise levels."
In fact, the city's first sleep clinic was set up two years ago to treat such problems.
If many Cairo residents need to get more sleep, another conclusion from Badoo's study is that the Big Apple needs to rethink its image as the city that never sleeps.
"New York has become so gentrified and Disneyfied and the community boards have gained so much power that nightlife has gotten the shaft in favour of quieter neighborhoods that are [felt to be] more amenable to rich residents and tourists", says Michael Musto, high-profile columnist on Village Voice, the city's influential weekly newspaper.
"Of course, the irony is that most rich people and tourists would LOVE nightlife if they got a taste of it."
So, has the time come for New York to get real, wake up and rebrand? From "the Big Apple" to "the Big Sleep" perhaps? Or, maybe, "New York, the city that barely wakes"? No, it doesn't quite have the same ring.
WORLD'S 10 MOST NOCTURNAL CITIES
Rank | City | Peak Time (pm) | "Nocturnal Index" |
1. | Cairo (Egypt) | 12.45 | 2.40 |
2. | Montevideo (Uruguay) | 10.75 | 2.40 |
3. | Beirut (Lebanon) | 12.30 | 2.33 |
4. | Malaga (Spain) | 11.30 | 2.32 |
5. | Zaragoza (Spain) | 11.15 | 2.30 |
6.= | Madrid (Spain) | 11.30 | 2.28 |
6.= | Barcelona (Spain) | 11.30 | 2.28 |
6.= | Valencia (Spain) | 11.30 | 2.28 |
9. | Seville (Spain) | 12.15 | 2.25 |
10. | Buenos Aires (Argentina) | 10.45 | 2.25 |
• The "Nocturnal Index" for each city is based on both its "Peak Time" for chatting and flirting and its "Night/Day Ratio", comparing activity levels by day and night. "Cairo ranks above Montevideo due to having a later "Peak Time".
EUROPE'S 10 MOST NOCTURNAL CAPITALS
Rank | City | Peak Time (pm) | "Nocturnal Index" | Global Rank |
1. | Madrid (Spain) | 11.30 | 2.28 | 6.= |
2. | Brussels (Belgium) | 11.00 | 2.23 | 11. |
3. | Istanbul (Turkey) | 11.45 | 2.22 | 12. |
4. | Belgrade (Serbia) | 11.15 | 2.21 | 14. |
5. | Lisbon (Portugal) | 11.30 | 2.19 | 15. |
6. | London (UK) | 11.30 | 2.15 | 17. |
7. | Paris (France) | 11.15 | 2.12 | 18. |
8. | Rome (Italy) | 11.30 | 2.00 | 27. |
9. | Moscow (Russia) | 12.15 | 1.91 | 31. |
10. | Prague (Czech) | 10.45 | 1.76 | 41. |
-Ends-
ABOUT BADOO:
Badoo.com is the world's largest social network for meeting new people locally.
First launched in Spain in 2006, it is now one of the leading social networks in France, Italy, Spain and South America, with over 122 million registered users worldwide... and growing.
It has become one of the 100 most visited websites in the world by providing a fun, useful service. It works!
Source: Google AdPlanner data
Statistics:
• 122+ million registered users
• 51+ million visits per month
• Available to use in 30 languages
• Accessed in over 180 countries
Source: Google AdPlanner data
© Press Release 2011
