The Government has today announced £7 million of funding for UK Sport to carry out a detailed feasibility study for a future bid to host an Olympic and Paralympic Games in the North of England in the 2040s.

Major sporting events can bring significant economic, social and cultural benefits to the places that host them and mayors and local leaders across the north have expressed strong support for bringing the Games to the region. Hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the UK could also bring communities together for a shared national moment and create a lasting legacy for people across the country.

UK Sport has completed initial work mapping the infrastructure requirements, costs and potential benefits of a Northern Games. That work indicates the proposal merits further examination before any decision is taken on a bid.

This funding will allow UK Sport to lead the study, working with the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, northern mayors, council leaders, the British Olympic Association and British Paralympic Association, the latter two of which would ultimately lead any such bid, to assess whether a Games in the north would be deliverable, affordable and capable of delivering lasting benefits for the communities involved.

UK Sport will be expected to present findings to the Government in 2029. The Government will consider the assessment's findings carefully and will update the House in due course.