Beach volleyball in Morecambe Bay? An Olympics of the north sounds like a winner | Emma John

<p>Our sport-loving PM is willing to risk a bitter north v south furore, all for the sake of table tennis in Teesside</p><p>As someone who barely understands their own finances, let alone the country’s, I will admit that budget day doesn’t always register with me. Perhaps if there were outre outfits or horse-drawn carriages involved, like there are at the state opening of parliament, I’d get into it, but the only accessory of note is a briefcase and it doesn’t even glow mysteriously when you open it.</p><p>This week, however, the chancellor of the exchequer did manage to catch my attention. Somewhere amid the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/oct/28/budget-2026-key-points-john-healey">household energy payments and defence spending</a>, he slipped in a cheeky £7m to assess a possible Olympic bid for the north of England. That’s only a preliminary step and a fraction of the cost of any actual bid – Tokyo and Paris spent more than £50m on theirs. Still, it’s enough to put

Reporting by The Guardian Sport. This summary comes from the cited outlet and will be updated as verified details arrive.