Manchester was named Britain’s site nominee for...

Manchester was named Britain’s site nominee for the 1996 Olympic Games, replacing the favored Birmingham, which bid for the 1992 Games and lost.

Birmingham had been expected to win the nomination again, but delegates voted in favor of Manchester, 20-11.

Manchester, 200 miles northwest of London in England’s Midlands, had a last-minute scare when rumors surfaced that its bid was not underwritten, as required by Olympic rules. Bob Scott, leader of the Manchester bid, called those rumors malicious gossip.