Northern olympics plan: John Healey’s first budget backs £7m study
Funding for a feasibility study
The planned £7m fund will pay for a report on how the Olympics might be hosted in northern England. The announcement is expected in John Healey’s first Budget on Wednesday.
Costs and bid prospects
The study will assess the possible cost of hosting as well as the chances of a bid succeeding. A Conservative-Lib Dem coalition government estimated in 2013 that hosting the Olympics in London had cost £8.9bn.
Support for exploring the idea
The British Olympic Association, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport welcomed news of the study’s funding. In a joint statement, the organisations said they looked forward to exploring the opportunity and its possible benefits.
Andy Burnham told the BBC that the Olympics could bring the country together, and said he wanted people to experience the excitement in their own towns and communities. He added that the country should explore whether it could host the Games again.
Key points
- A £7m fund is planned for a study of hosting the Olympics in northern England.
- The study will examine how hosting could work, its cost and the chances of a successful bid.
- Northern Mayors proposed the idea, with backing from former Olympians and British sports organisations.
- A 2013 estimate put London’s hosting cost at £8.9bn, but some organisations questioned the figure.