Olympic and Paralympic stars back Northern Games bid

Olympic and Paralympic stars back Northern Games bidImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Dame Laura Kenny won five gold medals and a silver across three Olympic Games while Sir Jason Kenny is Great Britain's most successful Olympian of all time with seven gold medals and two silversByDan RoanSports editorPublished3 minutes agoA group of current and former British Olympians and Paralympians have backed a proposed north of England bid to host the Games, claiming it has "a passion for sport like no other place".Cycling greats Dame Laura Kenny, Sir Jason Kenny, Dame Sarah Storey and Tom Pidcock have all signed a joint statement "to express our strong and united support".Olympic athletes Laura Weightman and Marc Scott, as well as Paralympians Susie Rodgers, Krysten Coombs, Rob Davies, and Poppy Maskill, are among others to say that the region "has the ability to host a box-office Games".Last month, ministers commissioned UK Sport to conduct an "initial strategic assessment" into whether the region could host the Games in the 2040s.The funding agency is looking into the potential cost of staging the event for the first time since London 2012, as well as socio-economic benefit and any bid's chance of success.London mayor warning over northern Olympic bidPublished17 MayNorth of England launches bid to host OlympicsAttributionNewsPublished9 FebruaryUK government discusses hosting Olympics in 2040sPublished6 MayIn their statement, the athletes hail the north of England's "world-class venues", claiming it can build on the legacy of London 2012. "The International Olympic Committee and International Paralympic Association's multi-city model makes a distributed Games more viable than ever before," they write."A 'Great North' Games would be a national Games. It would bring the country together in common purpose. It would showcase the very best of Great Britain."We believe that...