An ambitious £7-million fund to support a future bid to host the Olympics in northern England is being announced in today’s budget. The government backing has been welcomed by gold medallist Mayor Luke Campbell, who heads up the Hull and East Yorkshire Combined Authority.
The region’s new combined authority could play a leading role in putting the bid together, which could bring part of the Olympic and Paralympic Games to the region. The idea has been gaining momentum over the summer, with mayors from across the north of England working together to make the idea happen.
The next stage will involve the government, UK Sport, the northern mayors and the British Olympic and Paralympic Associations working together to deliver a bid. Mayor Campbell has called for a legacy reaching communities across Hull and East Yorkshire to be part of the bid.
Fourteen years after bringing Olympic gold home to Hull, Mayor Campbell is helping champion an ambition that moves the idea from an exciting possibility towards a detailed examination of what it would take to deliver.
“Winning gold at London 2012 changed my life. But that journey started as a kid from Hull with a dream,” he said.
“I know what sport can do for your confidence and for the opportunities you believe are possible. Imagine a young person growing up in the area getting to see the best athletes in the world compete across the north. That might be the moment they decide to join a club, give a sport a go or aim for something they never thought they could achieve.”
Olympic boxing gold was brought home to Hull
For Mr Campbell, the ambition is particularly personal. In 2012, he brought a boxing gold medal home to Hull, a moment the city marked with a gold-painted post box on Hessle Road. Today, he is among the Northern leaders asking what bringing the world’s biggest sporting occasion to their region could mean for the generations who follow.
The Great North partnership set out its proposal in February, calling for a Games that could draw on existing venues, skills and sporting strengths across Northern towns and cities while helping unlock longer-term investment.
Since then, more than 40 Olympians, Paralympians and leading sporting figures have backed the vision. In May, the Government asked UK Sport to complete an initial strategic assessment of the potential costs, infrastructure needs and benefits. That early work has concluded the proposal merits fuller investigation. The new Government funding makes that next stage possible.
Welcoming the announcement, Mr Campbell added: “I’m proud to be working with other Northern mayors and leaders to get this idea taken seriously. It’s a huge ambition, so we’ve got to do it properly. The £7 million is for a study, not a decision to host the Games. We need to understand the costs and make sure the benefits would reach ordinary people.”
For Hull and East Yorkshire’s combined authority the opportunity is not simply about whether an Olympic or Paralympic event could take place locally. An Olympic Games spread across the North could provide a focus for better sporting opportunities, stronger visitor economies, volunteering, investment in places and improved transport connections.
A bid needs to make sport more accessible for East Yorkshire communities
The bid could also encourage more children and adults to get active, including people who face barriers to taking part. Community clubs, accessible facilities and stronger routes into sport are the kinds of lasting benefits the region would want to see tested as the proposal develops.
That ambition reflects the combined authority’s Gameplan priorities of Fit and Healthy communities, Better Connected places and more opportunities for local people. But a successful bid means any benefits would need to reach smaller towns, rural and coastal communities as well as the North’s cities, Mr Campbell outlined.
He explained the ambition for the wider region should reach beyond a future opening ceremony. It should focus on giving children growing up in Hull and East Yorkshire something to believe in – and making sure that, if the Games come North, the opportunities they create are still being felt long after the crowds have gone home.
“For me, the real win wouldn’t just be those few weeks of sport. It would be better facilities, more opportunities for young people, improved connections and investment that makes a difference long after the last medal has been won. That’s a legacy worth aiming for,” he added.
Examining local venues, transport and infrastructure requirements
The feasibility study will examine potential venues, transport and infrastructure requirements, affordability and the wider social and economic case. No formal UK bid has been agreed, no host venues have been allocated to Hull and East Yorkshire and no local funding contribution has been confirmed.
The final delivery of the bid would be handled by the British Olympic Association, ParalympicsGB and UK Sport. They have released a joint statement welcoming the support from the government.
“Building on the success and legacy of London 2012, we look forward to working in partnership to explore this exciting opportunity and the benefits it could deliver for the nation, and for the global Olympic and Paralympic movements,” they said.
An Olympics bid would ‘unlock opportunity across our towns and cities’ and prove that ‘we can put on the greatest show on Earth’, explained Prime Minister Andy Burnham.
He said: “Few things bring a country together quite like the Olympics. I want people to feel that sense of excitement again, and to experience it in their own towns and communities, not just watch it on the telly. We know we can put on the greatest show on earth. Now we want to explore how we can do it again, with the whole country behind it.”
By: Paul Drury-Bradey, LDRS
