Birmingham bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics
| Overview | |
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Games of the XXV Olympiad IX Paralympic Games |
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Barcelona Paris · Brisbane · Belgrade · Amsterdam |
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| Details | |
| City | Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Chair | Denis Howell |
| NOC | British Olympic Association |
| Evaluation | |
| IOC score | 8 votes |
| Previous Games hosted | |
| None | |
| Decision | |
| Result | 4th runner up |
The Birmingham bid for the 1992 Summer Olympics and Paralympics was an unsuccessful campaign, first recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on 28 February 1986. Ultimately it lost, having only gained eight votes with Barcelona going on to host the 1992 Summer Olympics. Its failure was due to a number of factors, including a perceived lack of support by the British Government for the bid as well as the international relations that the UK had at the time with South Africa and the United States.
Birmingham was selected as the city for the UK bid ahead of London and Manchester. The city had long been described as Britain's "second city". It was led by Denis Howell, former Minister for Sport of the United Kingdom. Howell was a member of the Labour Party, which at the time was in opposition and therefore was not a member of the sitting government of the United Kingdom.
Birmingham's bid was previewed at the Sports Council seminar in Harrogate on 26 February 1986 prior to being submitted to the IOC on 28 February. Howell had returned from touring Eastern European countries to promote the bid in order to conduct discussions with IOC president Ashwini Kumar.
An initial estimate of £500 million was given for hosting the games, with the bid team expecting the city to make a profit of around £200 million on that. The bidding process itself cost in the region of £10 million.
The main venues for the Birmingham bid were centred on the National Exhibition Centre (NEC), and attempted to highlight the ease of access between the venues and the proposed athlete's village and other transport links. The NEC had seven indoor arenas, and it was expected that 85% of the sporting events would be hosted within 5 miles (8.0 km). The shooting would have been hosted at the Aldersley Stadium, Wolverhampton, where an £8 million complex was to have been built under the bid proposal.
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