UK Sport eyeing 2030 World Cup bid along with hosting 96 other major events for Britain’s ‘greatest decade’ of sport… but there are no discussions about bringing Olympics back to London
- Plans for until 2031 have been revealed for Britain’s ‘greatest decade’ of sport
- The proposals are led by a bid to bring the FIFA World Cup to the UK in 2030
- UK Sport’s hosting aspirations document features 97 events across 44 sports
- However, there are no active discussions about bringing the Olympics back
Plans have been revealed for Britain’s ‘greatest decade’ of sport, with bids under consideration for almost 100 international events between now and 2031 – but there are no active discussions about bringing the Olympics back to London.
Led by proposals to bring the FIFA World Cup to the UK in 2030, funding body UK Sport has released its hosting aspirations document, which features 97 events across 44 sports and spanning 46 world championships.
Those include suggested bids for the 2025 women’s Rugby World Cup, the 2031 Ryder Cup, the hockey World Cup, the Grand Depart of the Tour de France and also the 2026 European Athletics Championships, as previously revealed by Sportsmail.
Plans to host Britain’s ‘greatest decade’ of sport have been revealed, which is being led by a bid to bring the FIFA World Cup back to the UK for 2030
There are further discussions around bidding for the 2027 or 2029 athletics world championships on the back of the success of London 2017, with a 2029 bid understood to be more likely.
Pointing to the 97 events, 22 of which have already been secured, including the 2024 Champions League final and the Commonwealth Games next year, UK Sport estimate they would boost the UK economy by £6.83billion and attract more than 13 million fans.
UK Sport chair Dame Katherina Grainger said: ‘We are clear that by the greatest decade, we mean one that is still characterised by world-leading medal success.
However, there are no active discussions about bringing the Olympics back to London
‘But we have to do much more with that success not just around the Games. High-performance sport has a unique capability, and therefore a unique responsibility for inspiring and uniting the nation.’
Despite claims from London mayor Sadiq Khan ahead of Thursday’s election that he wanted to bring the Olympics back to the capital in 2036 or 2040, UK Sport’s powerbrokers confirmed it had not even been discussed at this point.