CHENNAI: India is not alone in showing interest in hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games. The Commonwealth Sports, brand name of Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), has revealed that seven nations have declared interest in hosting future editions. Though the CWS statement doesn’t clarify whether it is the next Games after Glasgow in 2026 or future ones, it does confirm that apart from India, Canada and Nigeria have submitted Expression of Interests (EOIs) to host in 2030.
The CWS confirmed that it has “received official expressions of interest (EOIs) from seven Commonwealth nations and territories keen to explore hosting future editions of the Commonwealth Games”.
The Commonwealth Sports said that it’s not just seven nations but when it comes to region-wise representation, Africa, Americas, Asia, and Oceania would comprise almost the entire Commonwealth. The statement said that 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. Apart from the five, there are two more EOIs focused on Games beyond 2030, “including New Zealand who have previously signalled their interest in hosting 2034 (Games)”.
This comes at a time when the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) is locked in a bitter stand-off between its president and majority of its executive council members. To add to the confusion, the official email apparently is down once again because of non-payment.
As reported by this newspaper, India had sent the EOI in March through Commonwealth Games Association (CGA) president PT Usha, who is also the IOA chief. A letter of support was submitted by Sports Authority of Gujarat and Gujarat government. Ahmedabad has been chosen as the venue.
However, Chris Jenkins, who had visited Ahmedabad in January along with CWS CEO Katie Sadleir, has stepped down as president of the organization. This could change the dynamics a bit and with a strong bid from Canada, things might not be as easy as it was initially thought.
Usha might have sent EOI as CGA president but a strong National Olympic Committee (NOC) is also one of the requisites to successfully bid for the Games. A bid committee too needs to be formed but since the IOA house is not in order, things might get more complicated.
The number of countries showing interest to host the Games must have brought smiles back on the CWS that had been relying on robust methods to make Games more viable and attractive. This was necessitated after multiple nations withdrew from hosting 2026 CWG.
CWS has introduced a “new collaborative host selection process for the Commonwealth Games in January this year, inviting its 74 Commonwealth Games Associations members (CGAs) to lodge their interest for 2030 and future editions of the Commonwealth Games” this January. Their objective was to move away from traditional bidding process and allowing more flexibility to potential hosts to be innovative.
The EOI is the first step towards bidding. An evaluation committee would visit the potential host city and submit report before being voted during an annual general meeting of the CWS.