Birmingham council bosses ‘wouldn’t rule out’ city bid for future Olympic Games

Birmingham council bosses have not ruled out a bid for the 2036 or 2040 Olympic Games as the area looks to build on what it hopes will be a successful Commonwealth Games over the next two weeks.

Local government officials hope the Commonwealth Games can be the catalyst to attract other major sporting events to Birmingham and the West Midlands over the next decade, including a potential bid for the World Athletics Championships.

The return of the Olympic Games to the UK in 2036 and 2040 has been the subject of increasing discussion in recent weeks, with the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan keen to bring the event back to the capital after it hosted in 2012.

Birmingham City Council Leader Ian Ward was asked whether the city would be interested in a future Olympic bid, and said: “I wouldn’t ever rule anything out.

“But if you look at the requirements for an Olympic Games, we’d have to have significant infrastructure investment in the city and the wider region to put us in a position where we could compete in such a bid.

“If the Government are wanting to move a bid forward in the future, we will of course engage with them. And if they’re willing to help us make that investment, then we’d be delighted to put forward a future bid.”

Birmingham failed in a bid to host the 1992 Olympic Games, which were ultimately awarded to Barcelona.

Asked about the possibility of a UK Olympic bid from outside London, Sports Minister Nigel Huddleston told PA: “I think there’s something very attractive to that.

“I don’t want to jump the gun but certainly I would be open, and I’m sure the Government would be open more broadly, to looking at alternative locations.

“Certainly we’ve seen recently, Birmingham, Glasgow and Manchester have all hosted