Sadiq Khan suggests date for London to host another Olympic Games and launches campaign

has backed to bid for the 2040 Olympic Games. A campaign launched by the Mayor of London is pushing for the capital to become the first city in the world to host the Summer Olympics on four separate occasions.

London last hosted the multi-sport spectacle in 2012, when billions of pounds was pumped into constructing the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in Stratford, which included brand new state-of-the-art venues like the London Stadium, the Aquatics Centre and the Velodrome. Khan's campaign involves using those facilities to bring the Games back to Great Britain as part of a wider strategy aimed at making London 'the sporting capital of the world'.

He told : "My ambition has always been for London to be the sporting capital of the world, and then to consolidate our position. I would like to see London become the first city to host the Games four times.

"Globally, everyone loves coming to London. And we've managed to stage a good event every year in the London Diamond League. I was in Paris last summer and I saw the transformation of their city.

"But we could knock it out of the park in relation to the Olympics, using the assets we already have in the aquatics centre, the stadium, the velodrome. And we could have some events outside of London too.

"When it comes to major sports events, the public and governments are not unreasonably nervous about a huge amount of money being spent on infrastructure. But the reason why 2040 makes sense for London is because we could do it in a brilliant way but also very cheaply. An Olympics in London wouldn't cost a fortune, but the benefits would be humongous."

The Mayor of London's office is publishing a report to outline the financial benefits which arose from hosting six significant sporting events last year. The Champions League final and regular-season NFL games, among other events, are said to have generated £230million for the economy and brought in hundreds and thousands of spectators.

Khan says the previous government 'had no interest in the importance of bringing sport to our country', and he is working with the current government on a bid for 2029 World Athletics Championship, which could be worth £400m to London.

He added: "If we have the World Championships in 2029, it means in the lead-up [to the Games in 2040] there's energy, enthusiasm and investment in track and field, which means you will have the future Mo Farahs, the future Paula Radcliffes."