The north of England wants to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games to boost an area “left out of the national story”.
Northern leaders have written to Culture Secretary Lisa Nandi urging the government to support the multi-city Games spread over a region of 15 million people.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said last year that he wanted to Capital to bid for 2040 Olympicswhich comes nearly 30 years after hosting the 2012 Games.
Andy Burnham, The Greater Manchester The mayor, on Sunday, said it was “not fair or right” for London to host for a fourth time and said the northern bid was “what Britain needs right now”.
Sir Brendan Foster, former 3,000m world record holder and founder of the Great North Run, said the Northern Games were vital to the “fair distribution of major international sporting events across the country”.
He said: “Iconic sporting occasions such as Wimbledon, Royal Ascot, Lord’s Test matches and the London The marathon is rightly celebrated in the national capital, but while the government is financing the organization of world sporting events, they should have a balanced national policy as their guiding principle.
In a letter signed by 11 politicians from the North, Nandini was told that the Northern Games were a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate regeneration, rebalance the economy and reset England’s international perceptions”.
The mayors believe they are in strong contention for the 2040 bid after the International Olympic Committee prioritized a move towards multi-city events. They hope Keir Starmer will see the political benefit of the Northern Games, as his party trails Nigel Farage’s Reform UK by an average of 10 points in polls, making significant inroads in former Labor heartlands.
Nandy, the MP for Wigan, has prioritized the delivery of cultural events across the UK, but her department will not be drawn on Sunday on whether to support the northern bid. A spokesperson said it was a decision of the British Olympic Association.
Former Olympic boxing champion Luke Campbell, who is now the Reform UK Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, said: “Winning gold at London 2012 was one of the proudest moments of my life. The whole country came together as one and representing our country on the world stage meant everything to me – and it showed that someone from Hull can go all the way.
“Bringing the Olympics to the North is not just about sport. It’s about giving our kids something to aim for, creating real opportunities and showing the world what this part of the country has to offer.”
Mayors say Sheffield, where the game’s original rules were written in 1858, is a mix of football’s northern sporting heritage and its elite venues make it an ideal host region.
Steve Rotherham, mayor of the Liverpool city region, said the Northern Games were “a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to bring the Olympics closer to ordinary communities that are too often thought to have been left out of the national story”.
If the North succeeds, politicians will be careful to avoid a complicated and expensive legacy of the London Games. The 2012 Olympics cost around £8.8bn – three times the original budget of £2.4bn – and Turbocharged the gentrification surroundings.
The research was published in 2024 explained The London Games are a “cautionary tale” for local communities.
