Mayors of the North of England bid for Olympics hosting rights! Does “The Great North” have infrastructure for it?
Northern mayors and regional leaders, writing collectively as the North of England, have urged Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to back a future UK Olympic and Paralympic bid anchored in the region
Despite hosting the Manchester Commonwealth Games, the EURO 2028 football championships, the Great North Run, Rugby League World Cups, the Open, Ashes Tests, and the Grand National, somehow, the North of England has never had a crack at hosting the biggest prize of them all. The Olympics. But that wait might finally come to an end.
Writing collectively as the North of England, the mayors and regional leaders are coming together to push a united, confident bid by writing to the Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy to back a future UK bid anchored on the North, framing it as a chance to finally rebalance where the country’s biggest global events land.
🏅 A bold vision for the North of England
— Public Sector Executive PSE (@thepsenews) February 9, 2026
Northern mayors and leaders have called on Government to anchor any future UK Olympic & Paralympic bid in the North – for the first time in history.
More 👇https://t.co/rJANH74D1e@KiMcGuinness #GreatNorth #Olympics #Paralympics… pic.twitter.com/pD1P5ieeet
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham believes that staging the Games would be “a defining moment for the North and we are confident our bid would make for a compelling proposition”.
Saying that much of the infrastructure is already in place, he added, “For Greater Manchester, the 2002 Commonwealth Games marked a real turning point.
Not just a wishful thinking
The North has the bones of a world-class, multi-class, multi-city game. Elite stadiums and areansm strong transport links, accommodation capacity, and a serious creative and broadcast ecosystem, aligning perfectly with the IOC’s shift towards mukti-city, region wide Olymnpics, which cuts costs. The UK has nearly 97 stadiums and arenas, inlcuding The Old Trafford in Manchester (74,197 capacity) and the Stadium of Light, Sunderland (Capacity over 48,000), which are all part of The Great North. Also, the government is investing heavily in sports promotion through policies and sports infrastructure.
Promotion of sports
Smaller facilities have been given a further boost by the government and Sport England, committing £400 million to funding grassroots facilities and setting up the Lionesses Future Fund to encourage female participation in football, lifting demand for sports facilities and easing cost pressures. Profit has trended upwards as more people participate in sports, although it remains slim due to the high operational costs associated with running facilities.