Why Sydney is in desperate need of a rebrand to attract investors

Sydney is viewed as one of the top tourism destinations in the world: renowned for its great coffee, beautiful beaches and friendly locals but a new report indicates it needs a rebrand.

Couple Christy Kyriakides, 26, and James Lambrou, 27. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Sydney is viewed as one of the top tourism destinations around the world, internationally renowned for its great coffee, beautiful beaches and friendly locals – but falls short on perceptions of night-life or business innovation, according to a new report on the Harbour City’s global brand.

The new Committee for Sydney report, Beauty Runs Deep: Benchmarking Sydney’s Brand 2025 reveals some hard truths about how the Harbour City is perceived across the globe, in comparison to how it actually performs.

While the report claims Sydney “punches above its weight” with access to cultural and sporting events, despite missing on many of the biggest codes and competitions to Melbourne, the city is perceived globally as having a lacklustre night-life and limited cultural offerings.

While new vibrancy reforms since 2023 have attempted to improve the city’s night-life since Covid and years of lockout laws, the international perception has not kept pace.

A new Committee of Sydney report has found global perceptions about Sydney do not match reality. Picture: Rohan Kelly

Where Sydney’s branding really falls flat is its perception as a hub for international business and innovation. Among financial professionals, Sydney has fallen to 27th in the rankings as a global financial centre in 2025. The city is also ranked 17th for innovation prospects over the next five years “despite being the largest innovation ecosystem in the Southern Hemisphere”.

According to the report only five per cent of people see Sydney as a top innovation hub as opposed to 31 per cent for Singapore. This perception is despite the city’s tech sector growing at a rapid pace, being rated ninth for the most mature fintech industry.

Additionally the report found Sydney’s perception as an expensive place with a lack of affordable housing impacted global views on the city’s liveability.

Sydney is famous globally for having excellent coffee, but not excellent nightlife. Pics by Julian Andrews.

Head of policy at Committee for Sydney Jeremy Gill said despite having the reputation as “a tourist Mecca” due to the city’s natural beauty, global perceptions are not aligned with reality when it comes to cultural offerings and business opportunities.

“When you look at global benchmarks, they tell a far deeper and more nuanced story about Sydney than we’ve been known for. We have a globally competitive innovation sector, and our cultural life is booming,” he said.

“It’s high time we let the world know Sydney’s so much more than just a pretty postcard.”

Couple Christy Kyriakides, 26, and James Lambrou, 27, pictured at Coogee Beach agree Sydney is best known for its beaches and sunshine. Picture: Jonathan Ng

Sydney locals Christy Kyriakides and James Lambrou agree that the city is best known for its beaches and sunshine.

“I think Sydney would be known to the outside (and inside) world for our coffee, and our beaches,” Ms Kyriakides said.

“But there’s way more to it than typical Bondi that’s for sure.

Mr Lambrou said despite its beauty, Sydney’s night-life is lacking in comparison to Europe.

“It feels like the second half of the day is dead, nothing really happens after 3pm. Unfortunately our night-life is dead,” he said. “I feel like we’re all homebodies. Whereas, if you go to Europe, everyone’s out socialising after work.”

Innovation Minister Anoulack Chanthivong agreed there was more to be done to sell Sydney’s story as an innovation powerhouse. The NSW government announced $80 million to boost the state’s tech sector in last week’s budget.

“NSW is already an innovation powerhouse in the Southern Hemisphere,” Mr Chanthivong said.

“NSW received 65 per cent of the nation’s venture capital investment in 2024, and is home to five of Australia’s eight tech unicorns (companies valued over $1 billion) like Atlassian, Block/Afterpay and Canva, but we can always achieve more.”

Originally published as Why Sydney is in desperate need of a rebrand to attract investors