Proposals for a north of England bid to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games have been welcomed in Blackpool and Lancashire.
The Lancashire Combined County Authority (LCCA), which brings together Lancashire County Council, Blackpool Council, and Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council into a single legal entity, has hailed support for the proposals by no less than 40 current and former British Olympians and Paralympians.
Major athletes have responded after ministers commissioned UK Sport to conduct an “initial strategic assessment” into whether the region could host the Games in the 2040s.
Funding agency UK Sport is looking into the potential cost of staging the event for the first time since London 2012, and analysing the kind of benefits it could bring.
Among the athletes backing the proposals are Olympic athletes Marc Scott and Laura Weightman, along with Paralympians Krysten Coombs, Susie Rodgers and Poppy Maskil. Cycling greats Dame Laura Kenny, Sir Jason Kenny, Dame Sarah Storey and Tom Pidcock have also expressed enthusiasm.
Reacting positively to this, Cllr Stephen Atkinson, chairman of the Lancashire Combined County Authority, said: “To have the backing of more than 40 athletes who have represented Great Britain, including Lancashire’s Graeme Thomas and Gregg Stevenson, is a significant step towards us bringing the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the North of England.
“Lancashire is proud to be hosting a number of major sporting events over the next two years including the Lloyds Tour of Britain Women in August, the men’s Tour de France in 2027 and The Open Championship in 2028.
“What better event to add to our calendar than a North of England Games to showcase local athletes and our county to the world yet again.”
In their statement, the athletes hail the north of England’s “world-class venues”, claiming it can build on the legacy of London 2012.
They said: “The International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Association’s multi-city model makes a distributed Games more viable than ever before,” they write.
“A ‘Great North’ Games would be a national Games. It would bring the country together in common purpose. It would showcase the very best of Great Britain.
“We believe that hosting a Games in the North of England in 2040 would be a moment of renewal and confidence for the entire United Kingdom. We are proud to add our voices to this vision and to support a Northern Games that would inspire generations to come.”
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