‘Winning gold at London 2012 is one of the proudest moments of my life,’ the Hull and East Yorkshire mayor said
Luke Campbell won Olympic gold at London 2012(Image: PA)
The Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Luke Campbell, has backed calls for the North of England to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Mr Campbell has joined a number of northern leaders in asking the Government to agree in principle to a northern Olympic bid.
Prior to turning to politics and becoming the Reform UK Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, Mr Campbell famously won Olympic gold at London 2012. The Hull-born boxer saw success in the men’s bantamweight division.
The Great North, a collaboration of Mayors and leaders across the North, has written a joint letter to the Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, Lisa Nandy, calling on the Government to commit in principle that any future UK Olympic and Paralympic bid is based in the North. They argue this would help achieve fairer redistribution of major events across the country.
The letter follows a call from the University of Liverpool’s Heseltine Institute who initially backed the idea of the 2040 games being centred around Liverpool and Manchester, with other venues across the North also used. It seems the idea now backed by The Great North would be more evenly spread across the whole region.
Leaders in the North say the case is compelling with the International Olympic Committee (IOC)’s move towards multi-city and region-wide games and the North’s impressive sporting credentials. Numerous major sporting events continue to take place across the North, including the Commonwealth Games in Manchester, the EURO 2028 Football Championships, the Great North Run, Rugby League World Cups, The Open, Ashes Tests, and the Grand National. The Tour de France will be hosted in Cumbria, Liverpool City Region and Yorkshire in 2027, while the World Snooker Championships in Sheffield is a regular feature in the North’s sporting calendar.
The North also has a track record of delivering major culture events, being home to the Hull UK City of Culture in 2017 and Bradford in 2025, hosting the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool, and major cultural showcases including the MOBO Awards, Turner Prize, MTV European Music Awards and the BRITs..
Luke Campbell, Mayor of Hull and East Yorkshire, said: “Winning gold at London 2012 is one of the proudest moments of my life. The whole country came together as one, and it meant everything to me to represent our nation on the world stage – and show that someone from Hull can go all the way.
“Bringing the Olympics to the North isn’t just about sport. It’s about giving our kids something to aim for, creating real opportunities and showing the world what this part of the country has to offer.
“Here in Hull and East Yorkshire, sport is a big part of who we are. Our communities turn out in their thousands to back their clubs, and I’m confident we’ve got the passion, the grit and the creativity to make this bid a real success.”
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