Sadiq Khan is officially backing a London bid for the 2040 Olympic Games

The 2012 Olympics was a special time in London. We got a massive new sports stadium, a Jubilee line glow-up and an iconic opening ceremony featuring Mr Bean, James Bond and Fatboy Slim. 

So what if we could do it all again? London Mayor Sadiq Khan has just backed a bid to host the games in 2040, and it’s part of his plan to make the city ‘the sporting capital of the world’. 

Khan is on a mission to bring more world-class sports to the Big Smoke as part of a strategy that will boost London’s economy. He said a future Olympic games in the city could be done at a low cost.

‘2040 makes sense for London 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,’ Khan told the Times. 

‘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.’ 

The Mayor’s office also has its sights set on hosting the Superbowl, and the World Athletics Championship in 2029, which Khan believes could be worth up to £400 million and be the perfect set-up for the Olympic bid. 

A report published by the Mayor of London’s office on April 28 revealed that major sporting events held in London last year, including the Champions League final, the London Athletics Meet, the NFL and Major League Baseball games, generated £230million for the capital. It also attracted almost 500,000 sports fans to the city, with more than 200 million viewers tuning in across the globe.

This year London will host the Women’s Rugby World Cup, while England, the Republic of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have already been confirmed as hosts for Euro 2028, and the UK is set to host the Women’s World Cup in 2035. 

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