Autumn Budget 2026: Tax hikes will negate boost from hosting Olympic Games
Tax hikes and regulation announced in Wednesday’s Budget will negate any financial boost from Great Britain hosting the Olympic Games in the 2040s, the UK government has been warned.
Chancellor John Healey confirmed in his fiscal statement that a £7m fund would be made available to conduct a “feasibility study for a potential future bid to host the Olympics and Paralympics in the North of England during the 2040s”.
It will report back in three years time, ahead of a potential bid for the quadrennial multi-sport competition.
But critics say tax hikes and red tape could stifle any economic benefit that comes out of hosting the Olympics and Paralympics – which the government is keen to spread across the North.
“Hosting the Olympics can be a huge boost to cities and regions involved,” shadow sport minister Louie French told City AM.
“But even if successful, the Olympics will never make up for the costs Labour’s tax hikes and red tape have placed on businesses across the country today.
“If taxing people were an Olympic sport, Labour would win gold every time.”
Olympic Games in the north?
A successful bid for a Games in the North would be the first in Britain since London hosted the Olympics in 2012. Unlike the event 14 years ago, a fresh bid would likely utilise an array of stadiums already built or under consideration across the region.
Manchester United’s planned 100,000-seat arena could star in an Olympic bid, as could the former Commonwealth Games athletics stadium which is now home to Manchester City.
Elsewhere the likes of Co-Op Live and other regional arenas could be used for sports such as basketball while existing velodrome structures are likely to be utilised.
During London 2012 sports such as sailing were taken out of the capital in a feat that could be repeated in a 2040s bid, while tennis is likely to utilise Wimbledon’s facilities down south.
The next two summer Olympic hosts have been confirmed, with Los Angeles and Brisbane staging the Games in 2028 and 2032. Bids for the subsequent Games in 2036 close at the end of the month, with confirmed interest already from India, South Korea, South Africa, Germany, Hungary and Qatar.
A bid for the Olympics comes after Prime Minister Andy Burnham hinted at a potential bid for a men’s football World Cup. The Home Nations and Ireland are already hosting the Euros in 2028, while the 2035 Women’s World Cup is set to be handed to Britain later this year.