Paris put on a show for the world to see and as far as we can see, there’s no reason why Manchester and Greater Manchester couldn’t do the same. They have of course tried before, bidding to host the games in 1996 and 2000 only to lose out to Atlanta and Sydney respectively. Of course, the world of sport did come to Manchester with the Commonwealth Games shortly after in 2002.
With that in mind we’ve taken a look back at the venues that were to be used back in 2000 and imagined how things might look in 2036 and 2040 which are the next Olympics without a host. Los Angeles will host in 2028 and Brisbane, Australia in 2032.
It’s time for Manchester to host the greatest show on earth.
13. Manchester Central
Then the G-Mex, the 2000 bid had the arena down as the host of the volleyball. But as another impressive space, there's plenty of sports that could take place in there. | Getty Images