London mayor warning over northern Olympic bid

May 17, 2026 No Comments

London mayor warning over northern Olympic bidFigure caption, North of England Olympic bid for 2040s being assessedByDan Roan

Sports editor

17 May 2026, 00:02 BST

Updated 30 minutes ago

London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has criticised the government’s plans for a possible north of England bid for the Olympics and Paralympics, saying that excluding the capital city would be “a missed opportunity”.

Ministers have commissioned UK Sport to conduct an “initial strategic assessment” into whether the region could host the Games in the 2040s.

The funding agency would examine the potential cost of staging the event for the first time since London 2012, as well as socio-economic benefit and any bid’s chance of success.

Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy stated the government was “starting the firing gun on the project.”

But in response, a spokesperson for Sir Sadiq stated: “London is the sporting capital of the world and the Mayor has openly expressed his ambition for the capital to be part of a future Olympic and Paralympic Games.

“Sadiq believes that a potential country-wide bid, using all the assets we have in the UK, including the publicly-owned London Stadium would deliver the very best possible Olympics.

“Using London’s existing world-class infrastructure would help deliver the greenest and most sustainable Games, as well as unlocking huge economic growth both here in London and around the country.

“Not including the capital in an Olympics bid would be a missed opportunity, and mean our country fails to unleash the full benefits of a UK-wide games.”

Earlier, Nandy stated, “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.

“We know that we can pull off the most incredible, not just bid, but Olympics. So we’re kick-starting that with a phase-one study about the investment, the resources, the infrastructure, the transport that we’re going to need.”

The findings of UK Sport’s study will determine whether to proceed with a more detailed “technical feasibility study”, with a final decision on any bid resting with the British Olympic Association (BOA).

Manchester United's Old Trafford was a host of the Olympic football matches at the London 2012 games — Image caption,

Manchester United’s Old Trafford was a host of the Olympic football matches at the London 2012 games

Background

In February, a group of northern political leaders urged the government to ensure any future Olympic bid would be based in the region, claiming there was a “compelling” case, and that it “already has many of the foundations in place to deliver a world-class Games, including elite sporting venues, major stadia and arenas”.

North East Mayor Kim McGuinness stated: “I’m delighted ministers and sporting bodies are now exploring how we could turn this ambition into a reality. We stand ready to work together to develop a credible, deliverable vision that can make the case to the International Olympic Committee (IOC).”

More than two-thirds of the UK public felt the £8.77bn cost of London 2012 was worth the money, according to a survey conducted the following year, despite it being three times more than the original budget.

The event was also credited with helping to regenerate east London and boosting the economy. However, it also failed to deliver the increase in sporting participation that organisers had hoped for.

“It was incredible for the country”, stated Nandy. “It brought in significant amounts of investment… it brought the whole nation together.”

Sporting infrastructure

Manchester failed with bids for the 1996 and 2000 Olympics, but went on to successfully host the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with the City of Manchester Stadium used as the athletics venue. It was then converted into a football arena for Manchester City, since renamed Etihad Stadium, one of a number of major sporting venues across the region.

Manchester is also home to the national velodrome and an aquatics centre. It has previously been suggested that Liverpool’s Albert Dock and River Mersey could host sailing events, with the Lake District potentially used for open-water swimming.

Manchester United have stated they are aiming to have a new 100,000 seater stadium ready by 2035. Leeds United also have plans to develop Elland Road.

‘Particular challenges’

When asked which stadium might form the centrepiece of any northern Olympic bid, Nandy stated, “the study will look at identifying all of the potential sites that we’re going to need…there are particular challenges around some of the athletics facilities, but actually these are things that any government should be addressing anyway, and an Olympic bid gives us the opportunity to do that.”

“The reality of the current financial context is that we want to work with what infrastructure already exists”, stated Nandy. “There is good infrastructure across the north of England, but it needs to be upgraded…You only need to look at some of the amazing infrastructure that we’re building, like the new Everton stadium, to see exactly what we can do here.”

In an effort to reduce costs and the need for spending on new infrastructure, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is known to be more open to multi-city or regional bids.

“We’ve got to prove to them that we can do this in the north of England” stated Nandy. “I believe that we can, though, and we’re deadly serious about making it happen.”

The government also revealed the launch of the ‘Stadium Regeneration Accelerator’. The project will see it working with sports bodies like the Premier League and English Football League on infrastructure development projects, such as stadiums, “that have the potential to regenerate their surrounding areas.”