The north of England is trying to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games to boost a region that has been “left out of the national narrative”.
Northern leaders have written to Culture Minister Lisa Nandy urging the government to support multi-city games in an area with a population of 15 million people.
Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said last year that he wanted the capital to bid for the 2040 Olympics, which would take place almost 30 years after the 2012 Games.
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, said on Sunday it would not be “fair or right” for London to host for a fourth time, and that a bid from the north was “what Britain needs now”.
Sir Brendan Foster, former world record holder in the 3,000 meters and founder of the Great North Run, said Northern Games were crucial for a “fairer distribution of major international sporting events across the country”.
He added: “It is clear that iconic sporting events such as Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, Lords Test matches and the London Marathon are rightly celebrated in the nation’s capital, but when the government funds the staging of global sporting events it must have a balanced national approach to guide it.”
In a letter signed by 11 political leaders in the North, Nandy was told the North Games would be a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to accelerate recovery, rebalance the economy and reset the international perception of England”.
Mayors believe they are in strong contention for a 2040 bid after the International Olympic Committee prioritized a move towards multi-city events. They also hope Keir Starmer will see the political benefit of northern Games, with his party trailing Nigel Farage’s Reform UK by an average of 10 points in the polls, which is making significant inroads in Labour’s former heartlands.
Nandy, the MP for Wigan, has prioritized the distribution of cultural events in Britain, but her department would not know on Sunday whether it would support the northern bid. A spokesman said it was a decision made by the British Olympic Association.
Former Olympic boxing champion Luke Campbell, Reform UK Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, said: “Winning gold at London 2012 is one of the proudest moments of my life. The whole country came together as one, and it meant the world to me to represent our nation on the world stage – and show that someone from Hull can go the extra mile.
“Bringing the Olympic Games to the North isn’t just about sport. It’s about giving our children something to aspire to, creating real opportunities and showing the world what this part of the country has to offer.”
Mayors said the north’s mix of sporting heritage – including the home of football, Sheffield, where the game’s original rules were written in 1858 – and elite venues made it the ideal host region.
Steve Rotheram, the mayor of the Liverpool City Region, said a northern Games would mark a “once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring the Olympics closer to ordinary communities who have too often felt left out of the national story”.
Should the North be successful, political leaders would ensure they avoid the complex and costly legacy of the London Games. The 2012 Olympics cost almost £8.8 billion – three times the original budget of £2.4 billion – and boosted the gentrification of neighbourhoods.
Research published in 2024 described the London Games as a “warning” to local communities.
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