A bid to stage the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the north of England in the 2040s is to enter the initial assessment phase, the Government has announced.
The Government has commissioned UK Sport to conduct the assessment as part of its ambition to drive regeneration in towns and cities through sport. The assessment will consider costs, socio-economic benefits and the chances of success.
If it did succeed, it would be the first Games staged in Britain since London 2012.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy said: “London 2012 showed what the Olympics can do for our country. It inspired a generation through sport, attracted huge investment and showed the best of Britain to the world.
“But while the north of England has driven so much sporting excellence, no matter the talent we produce, the sporting moments we create and the world-class events we attract – for too long we have been told the Olympics is simply too big and too important to be hosted in the north.
“Not any more. It’s time the Olympics came north and we showed what we can offer to the world.
“I couldn’t be more pleased to announce that we’re starting the firing gun on a long overdue vote of confidence in the north.”
The findings of the initial assessment will determine whether a more detailed technical feasibility study is undertaken to examine costs, benefits and viability of hosting the Games.
Any final decision on if and when a future bid might take place would be for the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association to take.
Manchester was unsuccessful in a 1993 bid to stage the 2000 Olympic Games, which were ultimately awarded to Sydney.
Documents released from the National Archive included a postmortem of why the bid had failed, including a comment from Damian Green, a former Conservative MP but at the time a policy advisor to then Prime Minister John Major, who said the reason Manchester had lost out was “obvious”.
“No one in their right mind would spend three weeks in Manchester rather than Sydney,” he said.
Reflecting on the comments after their public release in 2019, Green said: “I’m glad I was wrong and that Manchester did eventually succeed in a bid and held a memorably-successful Games (the 2002 Commonwealth Games).
“Manchester has become a lesson in urban renewal and I have learned not to be cynical.”
