Lancashire backs North of England Olympic Games bid as British stars lend support

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 Olympians Marc Scott and Laura Weightman, along with Paralympians Krysten Coombs, Susie Rodgers and Poppy Maskill. Cycling greats Dame Laura Kenny, Sir Jason Kenny, Dame Sarah Storey and Tom Pidcock have also expressed enthusiasm.

What council says

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.

“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.”

Famous Olympians and Paralympians from Lancashire

• Sophie Hitchon (Burnley): The hammer thrower made history by winning bronze at the 2016 Rio Games, which was Britain's first Olympic medal in the women's hammer throw.
• Holly Bradshaw (Preston): Holly won bronze at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which was also a first for a British woman in the Olympics.
• Keely Hodgkinson (Wigan): The 800m superstar solidified her legacy with a sensational Olympic gold medal at the Paris 2024 Games.
• Katarina Johnson-Thompson (Liverpool): A global heptathlon champion and one of Britain’s most decorated multi-event athletes.
• Charlotte Worthington (Manchester): Made history as the first woman to land a 360-degree backflip, claiming BMX Freestyle gold.
• Stuart Robinson (Morecambe): Won gold as part of the ParalympicsGB wheelchair rugby team at the Tokyo 2020 Games.
• Shelly Woods: Hailing from the Layton suburb of Blackpool, Woods is an elite T54 wheelchair racer. She is a multi-medalist who competed in multiple Paralympic Games (including Beijing 2008 and London 2012) and claimed medals in the 5000m and marathon. [1, 2]
• David Heaton: Born in the Bispham area, Heaton was a five-time Paralympian who represented Great Britain in wheelchair fencing. He medaled at his debut in Barcelona 1992 and competed in Games up until at least 2012. [1, 2, 3]
• Isaac Towers: A Blackpool-born wheelchair athlete who has competed on the track in middle-distance events, representing ParalympicsGB at the Tokyo Paralympic Games. [1]