The UK government is considering a 2040 Olympic bid

Discussions are underway about “preparing” the country for the 2040 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The UK government is considering backing potential bids to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in the 2040s.

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) says it wants to make the UK a “destination” for major sporting events, culminating in the Olympics and Paralympics.

“Preliminary work to consider whether the UK could host the Olympic and Paralympic Games for the first time since London 2012 will assess key factors such as potential cost, socio-economic benefit and the likelihood of success of any bid,” it said.

Last year, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said he wanted the city to bid for the 2040 Games, which would make the British capital the first city to host four Olympics since 1908, 1948 and 2012.

In February, Andy Burnham, mayor of Manchester, was one of 11 northern political leaders who wrote to DCMS secretary Lisa Nandy to back several cities in the north of the UK for the Games.

Nandy was told that the Northern Games would be a “once-in-a-generation opportunity to accelerate recovery, rebalance the economy and restore England’s international perceptions”.

Manchester and Birmingham both hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2002 and 2022 respectively. The latter is also holding the European Athletics Championship this summer.

Los Angeles and Brisbane will host the next two Olympic and Paralympic Games, but the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has yet to choose which cities will host the events in 2036 and beyond.

Countries interested in hosting the 2036 Games include India, Qatar, Turkey, Hungary, Germany and Chile.