CHENNAI: Sustainable Games. Not overshooting the budget. Traditional touch. Including an indigenous game or two. Venues ready and existing infrastructure. These are some of the subjects that outlined a short press briefing after India was officially announced as the host of the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
The 2030 Games would also endeavour to leave a lasting legacy as pointed out by Commonwealth Games Association, India, president PT Usha. “The 2030 Games will not only celebrate a hundred years of the Commonwealth Movement but also lay the foundation for the next century. It will bring together Athletes, communities, and cultures from across the Commonwealth in a spirit of friendship and progress,” she said in a statement.
Though the dates of the Games are yet to be finalised, because of extreme weather in Gujarat during summer, the mega-event could be pushed towards the end of the year with October seen as a favourable time.
The Commonwealth Sports announced on Wednesday that Amdavad (as reported by this newspaper) will host the Centenary Games. The CS has also confirmed that it will include some 15-17 sports in their programme but this will be finalized soon. The process, according to CS, will start next month.
The CS has finalised all sports that are integral to the Games but some of the sports in which India are good and are popular among most of the Commonwealth nations have been put in the bucket list. Cricket T20, hockey, Rugby Sevens, shooting, archery, squash and wrestling are among them and their fate will be decided soon. The process will begin next month. In fact, the Organising Committee of the Games too needs to be set up.
The wounds of 2010 Commonwealth Games that overshot the budget by multiple times are still fresh. So are examples of some of the hosts of multi-sports mega events. According to Ashwini Kumar, principal secretary, Gujarat government, said as much during the press briefing. “The 2010 Games were one of the best Games… but there were some challenges. This time, we are well-prepared.” Answering a question on over-committing on infrastructure that could lead to shooting the budget, he said “we as a country, as a city, over-committing on anything, and that is possibly a lesson that we can learn from the past editions of the games elsewhere in the world.”
The reason for the October window seemed the most favourable for Ahmedabad. “We have not yet formally announced the month in which we are going to go for the games, but October is the preferred season of the year when the weather is a little mild, and it would be optimizing the performance of athletes as well as maximizing the fan experience,” said Kumar.
“We will work very closely with CS to come up with exact dates when we would be hosting these Games. As you know, Ahmedabad is a city of festivities. They celebrate life in a big way and we have a nine-day-long Navratri Garba Festival followed by 20 days of a gap, and then there is a Diwali celebration. We have some window, but we will work very closely with CE.”
The bid team also highlighted Amdavad’s lofty infrastructure. “One of the major highlights of 2030 Ahmedabad is that most of the venues are already ready,” said the official, adding Ahmedabad can host the Games even now. The Games would be hosted in venue clusters across cities of Gujarat. Two major sports complexes would be built for the Games. The bid team also highlighted that this could be the stepping stone for a successful bid for the 2036 Olympics.
