{"id":38850,"date":"2026-05-17T00:32:09","date_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:32:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/38850\/"},"modified":"2026-05-17T00:32:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-17T00:32:09","slug":"olympics-could-return-to-britain-as-ministers-back-plans-to-host-games-in-the-north-of-england","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/38850\/","title":{"rendered":"Olympics could RETURN to Britain as ministers back plans to host Games in the north of England"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Government has backed plans to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games<\/a> in the north of England for the very first time.<\/p>\n

Ministers have commissioned an assessment by UK Sport which could lead to a bid for the summer Games in the 2040s.<\/p>\n

If successful, the northern bid would mark the first time the Olympic Games have been hosted in Britain since London 2012, and the fourth time ever.<\/p>\n

The strategic assessment will examine the costs, the socio-economic benefits to the North, and the bid’s chance of success.<\/p>\n

Backing the plans are two ministers whose seats are in the North: Culture Secretary and Wigan MP Lisa Nandy, and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, MP for Leeds West and Pudsey.<\/p>\n

Ms Nandy said: “London 2012 showed what the Olympics can do for our country.<\/p>\n

“It inspired a generation through sport, attracted huge investment and showed the best of Britain to the world.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut 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.<\/p>\n

\"Team<\/p>\n

If successful, the northern bid would mark the fourth time the Olympic Games have been hosted in Britain<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

“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\u2019re starting the firing gun on a long overdue vote of confidence in the North.”<\/p>\n

While hosting it cost \u00a38.77billion, London 2012 is thought to have generated some \u00a314.2billion in trade and investment benefits for the UK economy in the two years following the Games.<\/p>\n

Longer-term estimates suggest the economic legacy generated up to \u00a341billion over the following 10 years.<\/p>\n

Ms Reeves said: “Britain’s sporting prowess is recognised and respected around the world. It’s something we are determined to capitalise on to breathe life into our communities and build a stronger and more secure economy.<\/p>\n

READ MORE ON BRITAIN’S MAJOR SPORTING EVENTS:<\/p>\n

\"\\u200bLondon<\/p>\n

London 2012 is thought to have generated some \u00a314.2billion in trade and investment benefits for the UK economy in the two years following the Games<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

“That’s why we’re throwing our full support behind bringing the games back home which will boost our Northern Growth Corridor.<\/p>\n

“It’s also why we’re backing stadium regeneration plans, like at Elland Road, to deliver new homes, business opportunities and public spaces in Leeds and beyond.”<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, a Sporting Events Bill has been introduced to Parliament, which is aimed at making it easier to bid for major sporting events.<\/p>\n

Right now, Britain is the sole bidder for the 2035 FIFA Women’s World Cup – and will host the men’s Euros in 2028 alongside Ireland<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Euro<\/p>\n

The UK and Ireland will host the Euros in 2028<\/p>\n

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GETTY<\/p>\n

This summer, the UK will host the Women’s T20 World Cup, the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham and the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.<\/p>\n

While ministers are also backing bids to host the World Athletics and Para-Athletics Championships in 2029.<\/p>\n

The Government has appointed Labour peer Lord McConnell as a Ministerial Adviser on Soft Power and Major Events.<\/p>\n

Scotland’s former First Minister was selected for the role because of his experience in campaigning to take the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow in 2014.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Government has backed plans to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the north of England for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":38851,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,18,10232,771],"class_list":["post-38850","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-britain","tag-britain","tag-news","tag-olympics","tag-sport"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@UnitedKingdom\/116587104996556670","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38850","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38850"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38850\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/38851"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38850"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38850"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/britain\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38850"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}