London wants to host 2040 Olympic Games as Mayor Sadiq Khan unveils plan to ‘knock it out of the park’
LONDON wants to host the 2040 Olympic Games, with Mayor Sadiq Khan promising: We could knock it out of the park.
And the capital is ready to stage a future Super Bowl if the NFL plans to go global and take the one-day sporting extravaganza outside of the United States for the first time.
The Olympics were held in London in 1908, 1948 and 2012 – and hosting it for a fourth time would be a record.
LA and Brisbane are hosts for the 2028 and 2032 Games while India is the favourite destination for 2036.
Khan, who has served as Mayor since 2016, told The Times: “I was in Paris last summer and I saw the transformation of their city.
“But we could knock it out of the park in relation to the Olympics, using the assets we already have in the Aquatics Centre, the stadium, the Velodrome.
“And we could have some events outside of London, too. London could be a hub.
“When it comes to major sports events, the public and governments are not unreasonably nervous about a huge amount of money being spent on infrastructure.
“But the reason why 2040 makes sense for London is because we could do it in a brilliant way but also very cheaply.
“An Olympics in London wouldn’t cost a fortune but the benefits would be humongous.”
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No feasibility study has yet been created and any bid would require the full financial backing of No.10.
But ambitious officials at City Hall want London to become the “sporting capital of the world”.
A new report created by Think Beyond claims the staging of six major sporting events last year, including the Champions League final at Wembley which was won by Real Madrid, generated £230million for the city.
It also attracted close to 500,000 sports fans with more than 200million viewers tuning in across the globe.
A formal expression of interest is set to be submitted in September to World Athletics for West Ham’s Stratford stadium to host the 2029 World Athletics Championships – but it is dependent on £45million in government support.
Since 2007, regular season American Football matches have been staged annually in London – at Wembley, Twickenham and Tottenham’s football ground – in front of sell-out crowds.
And officials at the Mayor of London’s Office are willing to stage the biggest event on the US sporting calendar in Europe.
The Super Bowl will be held in California in February 2026 and 2027 and the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia, is the location for 2028.
But there is a gap from 2029 onwards and the five-hour time difference to the East Coast of the US should not be an insurmountable challenge.
Howard Dawber, London’s Deputy Mayor for Business and Growth, told SunSport: “If they were ever going to host it outside the US, we’re already the obvious place to do it.
“What I would say is the Mayor has made it clear that it’s a long-term ambition. It’s something we would like to do. And you know, there’s conversations.
“With the NFL looking to promote itself globally, having a Super Bowl outside of the US, in a location that’s more accessible to a lot of its core fanbase in western Europe, that makes a lot of sense for them as well.”