A coalition of metro mayors from across northern England has launched an ambitious bid to bring a new Olympic-scale sporting spectacle to the region, inspired by the enduring legacy of London 2012.Branded the “Great North Games”, the proposal – revealed by The Mirror – seeks to harness the spirit, infrastructure and national pride generated by the capital’s triumphant Olympics to rebalance investment and opportunity away from London and towards the North.Backers argue that a major, multi-city event could not only showcase world-class sport, but also drive regeneration, boost local economies and cement the North’s place on the global stage. As pressure grows on the government to match levelling-up rhetoric with concrete action, the mayors’ pitch sets up a fresh debate over where Britain’s next great sporting chapter should be written.
Regional leaders outline vision for a post London 2012 Olympic legacy across the North of England
In a rare show of cross-party unity, metro mayors from Liverpool to Leeds have sketched out an ambitious framework to translate the spirit of 2012 into concrete gains for communities north of the M62. Their shared blueprint pivots on three pillars – infrastructure, participation and skills – with leaders arguing that a coordinated approach could turn underused arenas, college sports halls and city parks into a joined-up network of training and events venues.Backed by universities and local enterprise partnerships, the plan envisages a decade-long program of investment in transport links between key cities, ensuring that fans, athletes and businesses can move easily across what they are branding the “Great North” sporting corridor.
The mayors are also pressing for a funding model that ties any future multi-city Games to measurable outcomes in health, youth opportunity and regional tourism. Draft proposals being circulated in Whitehall set out priorities such as:
- Community sport hubs in every major town, linked to elite pathways.
- Apprenticeships in event management, catering and digital broadcasting.
- Green travel plans connecting stadiums with rail, tram and cycle routes.
- Year-round cultural festivals to broaden the appeal beyond sport.
| City | Proposed Role | Key Legacy Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester | Core athletics & aquatics hub | Elite training & innovation |
| Leeds | Triathlon & cycling center | Active travel & youth clubs |
| Sheffield | Indoor arenas & parasport | Inclusion & accessibility |
| Liverpool | Opening ceremonies & waterfront events | Tourism & creative industries |
Economic and infrastructure gains projected from hosting a Great North Games multi city tournament
The mayors backing the proposed Great North Games argue that a rotating, multi-city format could unlock a wave of targeted investment across the North that a single-host model would struggle to justify. Rather than funnelling funds into one metropolitan centre, the concept spreads spending on transport, digital connectivity and public spaces across a chain of urban hubs, tying together existing regeneration zones with new infrastructure. Early projections from local economic partnerships suggest billions in additional output over the decade surrounding the event, driven by construction contracts, tourism, and the uplift in skills among a workforce trained to deliver a major international tournament. Crucially, organisers say the model is designed to leave a “living legacy” of venues that double as community assets rather than white elephants once the flame goes out.
Local authorities are already sketching out what that legacy might look like in practise,with planners eyeing the Games as a catalyst for projects that have long sat on the drawing board. Among the most frequently cited benefits are:
- Upgraded rail and tram links connecting key northern cities and stadium clusters.
- Modernised stadiums and arenas reconfigured for year-round community and cultural use.
- Expanded hotel capacity and hospitality zones to support a sustained tourism push.
- High-speed broadband corridors to service media, data-heavy industries and local residents.
- Green public spaces built around fan zones, designed to improve urban liveability.
| City Cluster | Key Investment | Main Benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Manchester-Leeds | Stadium upgrades | Year-round event revenue |
| Newcastle-Sunderland | Rail and metro links | Faster commuter travel |
| Sheffield-Hull | Arena refurbishment | Boost to music and culture |
| Liverpool corridor | Waterfront fan zones | Tourism and night-time economy |
Challenges of funding governance and public support facing a northern Olympic style bid
Yet the romantic vision of a new northern sporting showpiece collides quickly with the realities of who pays, who decides, and who is left carrying the can once the flame goes out. Unlike London 2012, which benefited from a powerful centralised delivery body and a capital city’s gravitational pull on Whitehall, a pan-regional event from Liverpool to Newcastle would demand intricate coordination between metro mayors, combined authorities, Westminster and private investors. Reconciling differing political cycles, competing regeneration priorities and devolved budgets is no small task. Commit too little public money and the project looks underpowered; commit too much and it risks being framed as an expensive gamble at a time of squeezed local services and rising council tax bills.
- Fragmented decision-making across multiple city-regions
- Uncertain long-term funding beyond headline pledges
- Public scepticism after previous cost overruns in major projects
- Balancing legacy promises with short-term political pressures
| Issue | Risk for the North | Public Reaction |
|---|---|---|
| Event costs | Budget overruns fall on local taxpayers | Backlash over “vanity project” spending |
| Governance | Regional infighting delays key decisions | Perception of chaos and weak leadership |
| Legacy | Underused venues and patchy regeneration | Disillusionment if promises feel hollow |
Winning hearts and minds outside the council chamber may prove just as challenging as assembling a viable business case. Polling after London 2012 showed strong support for the Games,but it also revealed lingering doubts over who really benefited once the cameras left Stratford. Northern leaders will need to convince voters that investment will not merely concentrate around flagship arenas or waterfronts,but filter into everyday infrastructure: bus routes,skills programmes,community sports hubs. Transparent costings, citizen assemblies, and clear guarantees on ticket affordability and community access could be decisive in shifting the narrative from “can we afford this?” to “can we afford not to reshape the North with it?”
Policy recommendations for central government investment and regional cooperation to secure the Games
To move from ambition to action, metro mayors are urging Whitehall to ringfence a long-term Northern Major Events Fund, matching local contributions and giving combined authorities the confidence to invest in venues, transport and skills. They argue that Treasury rules must recognize the wider legacy of a “Great North” Olympics-style festival,from tourism receipts to public health gains,rather than judging projects on short-term ticket sales. In practice, that means multi‑year capital settlements, a streamlined approvals process for cross‑border infrastructure, and devolution of spending powers so city regions can synchronise stadium upgrades with tram extensions, active travel corridors and digital connectivity.
- Co‑fund strategic venues across multiple cities to avoid white elephants.
- Guarantee integrated rail and bus upgrades linking host clusters.
- Create a shared security and resilience hub serving the whole North.
- Back a unified international marketing campaign under a single “Great North” brand.
| Priority Area | Lead Level | Central Role | Regional Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Transport links | Shared | Fund rail & trunk roads | Integrate local networks |
| Stadium & village sites | Regional | Provide guarantees & borrowing flex | Plan, build, manage legacy |
| Security & policing | Central | Set standards & fund capabilities | Coordinate on the ground |
| Skills & jobs | Regional | Support apprenticeships framework | Deliver training with colleges |
Mayors are also pushing for a formal Great North Games Compact, signed by participating city regions and endorsed by Westminster, to lock in cooperation beyond political cycles. Under this model, bidding, hosting and legacy programmes would be planned on a pan‑regional basis, preventing duplication and internal competition that plagued past mega-events. Joint procurement of green technologies, shared broadcast facilities and a common volunteer programme would spread costs and benefits, ensuring that whether events take place in Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester or Sheffield, the uplift in investment, reputation and opportunity is felt across the whole arc of the North.
To Conclude
Whether the “Great North Games” remains an ambitious talking point or evolves into a fully fledged bid, one thing is clear: the legacy of London 2012 still looms large over Britain’s sporting and political landscape. For the mayors leading this charge, the objective is not only medals and global spectacle, but a rebalancing of investment and opportunity away from the capital and towards the regions they argue have waited long enough.
In the coming months, feasibility studies, funding rows and negotiations with sporting bodies will test how far this vision can realistically go. But for now, the North’s leaders have placed a bold marker on the table – and reopened a national debate about where, and for whom, the Olympic dream should next be staged.
