London: India will face competition from Canada, Nigeria and two other countries in its bid to host the centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030, Commonwealth Sport (CWS) announced on Wednesday.
The confirmation from CWS comes less than a month after PTI, quoting a top sports ministry source, reported that India, also aiming to host the 2036 Olympics, submitted its bid to organise the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Gujarat.
CWS said that it had received ‘Expression of Interests’ (EOIs) from Canada and Nigeria, besides two more unnamed countries, to host the 2030 edition of the Games.
In all, seven countries have expressed interest in hosting future Commonwealth Games with five of those focused on staging the centenary edition. CWS also added that New Zealand are one of two nations that want to host the 2034 edition.
“Africa, Americas, Asia, and Oceania make up the regions from which the EOIs have been submitted. Canada, India, and Nigeria have already publicly confirmed that they have lodged an EOI for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, with two additional nations also confirming their interest in 2030.
“Two EOIs are focused on the future Games pipeline, including New Zealand who have previously signalled their interest in hosting 2034, Commonwealth Sport said in a statement.
Commonwealth Sport CEO Katie Sadleir said the CWS is “thrilled with the incredible interest” in hosting the Games.
“This positive response from four of our six regions underlines the importance and significance of the Commonwealth Games and its position as the major multi-sport event in the world sporting calendar alongside the Olympic Games and Paralympics and shows the strength and appeal of our reimagined Games model.”
The future of CWG had looked uncertain in recent years with the Australian state of Victoria withdrawing as hosts for the 2026 Games due to budget constraints. Glasgow stepped in to salvage the event, but after making many alterations to the games programme.
The initial estimate for hosting the Games in Victoria was 2.6 billion Australian dollars.
“We cannot understate the hugely significant role Scotland has played in this change, having the foresight, tenacity and innovative thinking to step forward and host the Games in Glasgow in 2026 within an incredibly tight timeframe, building on their legacy of Glasgow 2014,” Sadleir said.
“Glasgow 2026 will be a bridge to the Games of tomorrow – an important first step in our journey to reimagine and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future of major events,” she added.
All the bids are single rather than multi-nation, and India last hosted the Games in 2010 in New Delhi.
The last date to submit the ‘Expression of Interest’ to host the Games was March 31 and India’s letter was sent by the Indian Olympic Association (IOA).
This was after sports minister Mansukh Mandaviya asserted that the country was interested in hosting the Games in 2030.
