London named world's most innovative city in 2015

London has been crowned the world's most innovative city in 2015, according to the 9th annual Innovation Cities Index from 2thinknow.

Credited as the first European capital to implement innovation strategies in response to the global financial crisis, London rose to the top spot this year, outperforming previous winners Silicon Valley, Vienna and Boston.

The South Korean capital of Seoul rounded out the top 5, for the first time entering the top ten globally, with New York, Amsterdam, Paris and Tokyo the next five named in the global ranking.

Other fast-rising cities included: Barcelona (now 27), Beijing (40), St Petersburg (48), Taipei (52), Madrid (56), Dublin (61), Mumbai (74), Oporto (99) and Medellin (147), all graded according to improvements in economic conditions, startup enterprises and technology sectors.

In the 'emerging' region Dubai rose further globally to 23rd, ahead of fellow emirate of Abu Dhabi (42), Istanbul (95) and Cape Town (125).

Overall, however, the percentage of North American cities in the top hundred fell to 31%, as the percentage of Asian cities rose to 19% for the first time ever.