Bacolod City

The City of Bacolod is a highly urbanized midsize Philippine city. It is the capital of the province of Negros Occidental. Having a total of 499,497 inhabitants as of August 1, 2007, it is the most populous city in the Western Visayas Region. It is currently ranked as the 17th most populous city in the Philippines. It is part of a metropolitan area called Metro Bacolod, which includes the cities of Silay and Talisay.

It is notable for its World famous MassKara Festival held during the 3rd week of October. Known for being a relatively friendly city, it bears the nicknames "City of Smiles" and "Football City of the Philippines". Bacolod City recently ranked no. 1 in a survey by MoneySense Magazine as the "Best Place to Live in the Philippines". Bacolod ranks 3rd among the top ten "Next Wave Cities" of the Philippines for the best location for business process outsourcing and offshoring according to the 2010 report of the Commission on Information and Communications Technology.