Resident Perceptions of Olympic Hosting in Northern England

Dear Northern Resident,

In February 2026, all eight Metro Mayors of northern England signed a joint letter calling on the UK government to support an Olympic and Paralympic Games bid for the North of England. On 17 May 2026, the government responded by formally commissioning UK Sport to carry out an initial strategic assessment examining whether the UK could host the Games in the North during the 2040s. No formal commitment to a bid has been made at this stage, and no detailed plans yet exist.

This study explores how residents of northern English cities feel about this proposal — what concerns or hopes they have, how they feel about spreading the Games across multiple northern cities rather than concentrating them in one place, and whether their views are shaped by wider feelings about regional inequality and the relationship between the North and the rest of the UK. Your responses will contribute to one of the first academic studies of northern resident perceptions of this proposal and form part of an MSc thesis conducted at the University of Bath.

The questionnaire is divided into 4 sections, and it only takes 8–10 minutes of your time. Your participation is voluntary, and your identity will be kept anonymous. We greatly appreciate your participation.

Please read the Participant Information Sheet, which contains the study details, and the Informed Consent Form. By agreeing to the following question, you consent to participating in this study