Bath ready to pre-host Olympic Games

Bath hosted the European Youth Olympic Games in 1995

If Britain wins the newly-backed bid for the 2012 Olympic Games, the city of Bath could be an early beneficiary.

The city could be used as a regular pre-Olympic Games training venue for bigger teams like Australia, Canada and the USA, says the University of Bath.

It has already been in contact with British Olympic officials about the plan.

The British Government has just given the green light to London's bid to host the 2012 Games and Paralympics.

We also had a lot of interest and use of our site in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester

Ged Roddy
Director of sport

A £23m extension to the University sports facilities will be completed in the next nine months, and the city is an hour or so away from London, say University officials.

"Bath's attractions as a tourist destination make it a prime site for teams to visit in the years running up to the Games," said a spokesperson.

Bath hosted the European Youth Olympic Games in 1995.

Ged Roddy, director of sport at the University, added: "We also had a lot of interest and use of our site in the run-up to the Commonwealth Games in Manchester last year.

"We could cater to the needs of some of the larger teams who will want a semi-permanent base - particularly those nations who have to deal with a large time difference and need plenty of time to acclimatise," he said.