The government will consider the possibility of bidding to host the Olympics and Paralympics in the 2040s as part of a new strategy to bring more major sporting events to the United Kingdom.
Plans unveiled by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) aim to make the UK the “go-to destination” over the next two decades having previously announced plans to bid for the 2035 Fifa Women’s World Cup.
The Ryder Cup, last hosted in the UK in 2014, has been identified as a key target by UK Sport with the 2035 venue yet to be decided, with a bid from Bolton among a number to express interest. Possible support for a bid for the Solheim Cup, which will be held in the Netherlands this year, is also under consideration.
The government intends to look at legislation that will make it a criminal offence to resell tickets for specific major sporting events without authorisation, and set out a new framework to make bidding for sporting events more straightforward.
That could open the door to a return for the Olympic and Paralympic Games three decades on from London 2012.
It comes as England, Wales and Scotland prepare to co-host Euro 2028 with the Republic of Ireland, and with the Women’s T20 World Cup, European Athletics Championships and Commonwealth Games among the major sporting events in the UK this summer.
“Sport brings our country together like nothing else – and never more so than when we welcome the world’s biggest major events,” Lisa Nandy, the Culture Secretary, said.
“From London 2012 right through to the record-breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup we hosted last summer, we’ve proven ourselves to be outstanding hosts time and time again.
“This Government is committed and ambitious. We want to continue attracting the most prestigious events in sport so that people all over the country can enjoy the whole range of economic and social benefits they bring for generations to come, showing the best of Britain to the world.”
