London’s mayor is totally against a northern England bid.
The mayor of London, England is unhappy because cities in northern England want to band together and bid for the 2040 Summer Olympics. The English government’s proposal to bring the Olympic and Paralympic Games to northern England during the 2040s is set to enter its preliminary assessment stage. “London 2012 showed what the Olympics can do for our country. It inspired a generation through sport, attracted huge investment and showed the best of Britain to the world,” said Lisa Nandy, England’s Culture Secretary. There has never been a real financial assessment of the 2012 London Summer Olympics or proof the huge investment actually paid off. Historically, the Olympics is a money loser.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan is unhappy with the government’s plan. Khan said excluding his city would be “a missed opportunity”. Khan’s spokesperson didn’t mince any words. “Sadiq believes that a potential country-wide bid, using all the assets we have in the UK, including the publicly-owned London Stadium would deliver the very best possible Olympics. Using London’s existing world-class infrastructure would help deliver the greenest and most sustainable Games, as well as unlocking huge economic growth both here in London and around the country. Not including the capital in an Olympics bid would be a missed opportunity, and mean our country fails to unleash the full benefits of a UK-wide games.” Nandy disagreed. “But while the north of England has driven so much sporting excellence, no matter the talent we produce, the sporting moments we create and the world-class events we attract for too long we have been told the Olympics is simply too big and too important to be hosted in the north. Not anymore. It’s time the Olympics came north and we showed what we can offer to the world.” The International Olympic Committee doesn’t mind the English squabble.
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