The UK government has set aside £7m to explore a potential Olympic bid for the north of England, a preliminary step that could lead to a formal candidacy in the 2040s.
The funding, announced by the chancellor of the exchequer in the budget, will support a more comprehensive assessment following an initial review requested by northern mayors. The detailed feasibility study by UK Sport is not due until 2029.
Mayors and Political Support
The idea gained traction in February when a group of mayors from northern cities wrote to culture secretary Lisa Nandy asking her to bring the Olympics to their region. Three months later, Nandy backed the proposal, saying "It's time the Olympics came north," and announced an initial assessment.
The new funds will support a more comprehensive study, with a view to hosting in the 2040s. Prime Minister Andy Burnham, a former mayor of Greater Manchester, has shown longstanding commitment to the region's athletic legacy, having completed the Great North Run last month in one hour 57 minutes and 34 seconds, becoming the first serving prime minister to do so.
Reactions and Rivalry
Luke Campbell, the 2012 Olympic bantamweight champion and Reform UK's mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, praised the funding. "I'm proud to be working with other northern mayors and leaders to get this idea taken seriously," he said, calling it "a legacy worth aiming for".
London mayor Sadiq Khan, however, has been advocating for bringing the Games back to the capital for the past five years, consulting the International Olympic Committee and working on a plan to reuse 2012 venues. "The great thing to remember is the power of sport," he said on the 10th anniversary of the London Games. "It's above party politics, it's above north versus south."
North versus South has been a fundamental part of England's sporting landscape since Victorian times, with early fixtures in football, cricket, water polo and rugby union played between the two regions. The Olympic bid also reflects politics of regional disparity, from the failure of levelling up to the devolution revolution.
The feasibility study answers the call of a voting base interested in outside investment and regional infrastructure that an Olympics might provide. If a bid came off, it would celebrate the north's athletic legacy, but for now the proposal remains a theoretical possibility and a politicians' talking point.
