London was named ‘most attractive city in the world’ for the first time, stealing the crown from last years winner New York, while Paris, its ‘eternal rival’, fell to sixth place.

The survey that is conducted annually by PricewaterhouseCoopers compares 30 global cities. These destinations are ranked based on the cost of living, demographics, ease of doing business, health and safety and transport.

Paris, which battles with its rival across the Channel to attract capital and tourists, dropped two places and was ranked sixth.

The six most attractive cities in the world, based on PwC report, are:

1. London

2. New York

3. Singapore

4. Toronto

5. San Francisco

6. Paris

The ranking is based on studies by the International Monetary Fund and other international groups as well as a survey of PwC staff.

The international firm PricewaterhouseCoopers is one of the largest providers of accounting and consulting services with 146,000 employees in 150 countries around the world.