The UK government granted £7 million for UK Sport to conduct a detailed feasibility study on hosting the 2040s Olympics in northern England, with findings due in 2029. The concept gained traction in February after northern mayors urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to endorse the plan. Regional leaders, including Hull and East Yorkshire Mayor Luke Campbell, believe the Games could drive transformative infrastructure and investment under Prime Minister Andy Burnham. The project faces pushback from London Mayor Sadiq Khan, who has lobbied the International Olympic Committee for five years to reuse the capital's 2012 venues.
Key points
Northern mayors successfully convinced Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to advance the multi-…: Northern mayors successfully convinced Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to advance the multi-million-pound Olympic feasibility assessment.
Regional leadership views the proposed Games as a vital mechanism to drive infrastructure…: Regional leadership views the proposed Games as a vital mechanism to drive infrastructure and foreign investment northward.
The northern proposal creates a competing domestic rivalry with London's established effo…: The northern proposal creates a competing domestic rivalry with London's established efforts to reclaim the global sporting event.
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As someone who barely understands their own finances, let alone the country’s, I will admit that budget day doesn’t always register with me. Perhaps if there were outre outfits or horse-drawn carriages involved, like there are at the state opening of parliament, I’d get into it, but the only accessory of note is a briefcase and it doesn’t even glow mysteriously when you open it.
This week, however, the chancellor of the exchequer did manage to catch my attention. Somewhere amid the household energy payments and defence spending, he slipped in a cheeky £7m to assess a possible Olympic bid for the north of England. That’s only a preliminary step and a fraction of the cost of any actual bid – Tokyo and Paris spent more than £50m on theirs. Still, it’s enough to put thoughts in people’s heads of beach volleyball in Morecambe Bay or a British eight rowing to victory along the Tyne.
The idea has gained traction since February, when a group of mayors from the northern cities first wrote to the culture secretary, Lisa Nandy, asking…
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