Mayor of London Sadiq Khan said on Friday that his office was working on getting the Olympics back to the city and making them the “greenest Games ever”.
London last hosted the Summer Olympics in 2012 and the earliest bid would be for 2036 – since the next three Games have already been allocated to Paris (2024), Los Angeles (2028) and Brisbane (2032).
London 2012 showed our capital at its best.
Today I joined Olympians & Paralympians to celebrate London's sporting legacy.
We announced £17m collaborative sports funding that will create new opportunities for young Londoners to thrive. pic.twitter.com/4ZTZPQtYFB
— Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) July 22, 2022
“The great thing about London is you don’t expend carbon on building new stadiums, new places to do cycling, new places to do swimming because we’ve got all the kit,” Khan told Sky News.
“There’s no pressure from the IOC, the key thing is to make sure we’ve got all the building blocks in place.”
Khan said that the plans remain at an early stage and would require the support of the Government and the British Olympic Association.
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London also hosted the summer edition of the Games in 1908 and 1948.
The UK is considering a bid for one of the Games in the 2040s it is revealed in the newly published Levelling Up White Paper, a Government initiative launched by Prime Minister Boris Johnson designed to spread opportunity more equally across the UK.
The ambition to bring the Olympics back to Britain for a fourth time is laid out on pages 220 and 221 of the 332-page document.
“London continues to reap the benefits from hosting the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2012,” the document says.
“Hosting major sporting events can enable regeneration, support jobs growth, and encourage grassroots sport and community action.
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“As we approach the tenth anniversary of the 2012 Games, the UK Government is commissioning UK Sport to lead feasibility work on the prospect of bringing major sporting events to the UK.
“This work will focus on opportunities outside London – supporting and underpinning the ambition to level up the UK.”
Reuters with additional input by GVS News Desk