The Dutch government has given its backing to a possible bid to host the 2028 Olympic Games, 100 years after the Olympics last came to the Netherlands.

An initial budget of 13.5 million euros has been earmarked for the initiative but the final decision on a Dutch candidacy, including the names of the host cities, will not be taken until 2016.

Part of this sum will be invested in a joint Dutch-Belgian bid to host the 2018 Football World Cup. Dutch politicians see the World Cup as a chance to show the world that the Netherlands is capable of taking on an event on the scale of the Olympics.

The International Olympic Committee will not announce the host of the 2028 Olympics until 2021.

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