Liverpool 2022

World Firefighter Games, Liverpool, 2008 - Opening Parade

When the Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson suggested that Liverpool was interested in bidding to be host city for the Commonwealth Games in 2026 I thought it sounds interesting, something we should at least consider but it’s a long way off, I’ll get round to getting excited about the prospect one day, but not yet.

Suddenly with Durban’s hosting of the 2022 games looking in doubt, we now have the prospect of Liverpool stepping into host the games in 5 years’ time!

I’ve no doubt there are the usual suspects, and others, already shaking their heads and denouncing this as a non-runner which we can’t achieve.  And the usual keyboard warriors are probably already wheeling out their rusty scouser “jokes” that weren’t funny 20 years ago.  But me, I love a challenge, and my first instinct was “bloody hell, we need to roll our sleeves up, pull our fingers out, and put our backs into it” (and other assorted metaphors).

Can it be done?  Yes of course it can.

Can we do it? Yes, if we want to.

Will we do it? That’s the question.

Tour of Britain, Liverpool, 2014

If we are going to leave the EU and embrace “Global Britain” then what could be more of a statement of intent than a trading mercantile city like Liverpool hosting the Commonwealth’s finest athletes.

5 years is a very short time to organise a Games, so we’d need to bring some new thinking to the bid.  For a start we’d need to build venues, or would we?  When Glasgow hosted the Games in 2014, the swimming events were held in Edinburgh, so there is no reason why our cycling events couldn’t be held at the Manchester Velodrome.  There are existing venues and locations we could use in the North West and North Wales, all within an hour’s journey from Liverpool.  All the indoor activities could be accommodated in the Liverpool Arena & Exhibition Centre complex.  This could also give an impetus to the pending development at Liverpool Waters and Bramley Moore Stadium (Everton FC). 

But with the cost of hosting the Commonwealth, and the Olympic, Games becoming out of reach of many countries (hence why Durban are struggling) surely bringing the games back down to a realistic footing would bode well for their future 

The DCMS and HM Treasury would of course need to put some money where their post-Brexit mouths are, but with Theresa May presumably having won the 2020 election, what could be better than a mid second term opportunity to stand tall on the world stage.

The Mayor of Liverpool, Mayor of Liverpool City Region and Mayor of Greater Manchester would also need to work together on this – alas not a mean feat in itself – to present a cohesive plan to the government and Commonwealth Games Federation.

Sea Odyssey, Liverpool 2012

And of course we’d need to have the people of the city on board.  There will be plenty of naysayers, aka the Echo Comments page, but one of the key reasons we won 2008 Capital of Culture was the willingness of the people to get behind the bid.  We need that spirit to prevail again.

So, Liverpool 2022. #AllHandsOnDeck

Liverpool 2026

The Mayor of Liverpool, Joe Anderson, announced yesterday that Liverpool intended to bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026.
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This is a bold ambition, and as is to be expected the usual naysayers have already poured their cold water on the idea.
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It will take determination, a lot of hard work and a little bit of luck to first of all persuade the UK government to give us the kind of financial backing that was given to London 2012, even though the sums involved are a fraction of those demanded by the Olympics; secondly to win the UK nomination, then to win the support of the Commonwealth nations to win the hosting rights, and finally to actually stage a successful games in ten years time.
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Ambitious yes, but Liverpool has a history of taking ambitious leaps of faith to progress the city.
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In 1709 the then Town Council mortgaged the entire town, everything, to build the world's first commercial dock. That was such a success that it led to us having the most extensive, and profitable dock system in the world, indeed such was Liverpool's success that at times during the 19th century our Custom House was the largest single contributer to the Exchequer, and Liverpool's wealth surpassed that of the capital.
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In 1830 in order that the burgeoning port could have faster access to the industrial north west the world's first intercity railway was built to link Liverpool and Manchester.
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The list of firsts includes the world's first School of Tropical Medicine; Britain's first municipal housing; the world's first overhead electric railway. In the 20th century we built Britain's largest cathedral, the world's longest underwater road tunnel (a record held for 40 years); the first port radar system. The list goes on!
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In 2003 we beat 5 other cities to be named European Capital of Culture for 2008. Many scoffed, but it's widely acknowledged to have been the most successful ECoC programme ever delivered with 9.7m visitors to the city generating £754m for our economy.  The visitor/tourism economy now supports 43,000 jobs and generates £4bn annually.
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More recently in 2014 one million people visited the city in one weekend to see "Memories of August 1914" as we launched our WW1 commemorations; and in 2015 1.2m people lined the banks of the Mersey as Cunard celebrated its 175th anniversary.
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In 2014 and again this year the International Festival of Business has seen a total of over 100,000 delegates from 100 countries meet in Liverpool.
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We can, and we do, host major national and international events, conferences and celebrations.  We can put on a successful 2026 Commonwealth Games and if our history is anything to go by, we will.