With globalisation, cities, rather than losing their function, have taken on a more active role as nodes for the international flows of people, services and knowledge. The opening of markets to the global economy and growing neo-liberalism mean that cities have to face up to international competition for resources. City councils transform from administrators and distributors of goods and services to economic developers. Increasing attention is paid to developing policies to attract investment from outside and climbing the urban hierarchy in order to overtake competing cities. Organising large events, investing in star regeneration projects or urban marketing strategies are some of the new governance practices that are increasingly being developed in collaboration with the private sector. This article explores the neo-liberal urban governance practices in three European cities: Milan, Newcastle and Bilbao, to analyse how these forms of governance can be applied to different contexts.