India to stage centenary Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad in 2030

AHMEDABAD will host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, marking 100 years since the first edition was held in Hamilton, Canada. The confirmation came on Wednesday after the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow ratified the choice, following a recommendation from the executive board.

The Indian city, also called Amdavad, was selected ahead of Abuja, Nigeria. India had earlier submitted a formal letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee to host the 2036 Summer Olympics.

"We are deeply honoured by the trust shown by Commonwealth Sport," said Dr PT Usha, president of the Commonwealth Games Association of India. She said, "The 2030 Games will not only celebrate 100 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."

Ahmedabad, a key city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat, has a 130,000-seater arena, the world’s biggest cricket stadium named after the Indian premier. Modi said he was "delighted" and added that India looks "forward to welcoming the world".

The executive board had announced in October that Ahmedabad was the preferred choice after a competing bid from Abuja.

Ahmedabad becomes the second Indian city to host the Commonwealth Games after Delhi in 2010. That edition faced construction delays, budget issues and corruption allegations, which led to the head of the organising committee being jailed.

The future of the Games was uncertain last year after organisers were unable to secure a replacement host for 2026 when Victoria, Australia withdrew over costs. Daniel Andrews, then premier of Victoria, said two years ago that while the initial estimate for hosting was Aus $2 billion (US $1.29 billion), the actual cost would likely be around Aus $7 billion, which he called "well and truly too much".

Glasgow will now stage a slimmed-down version of the Games in 2026, making it the second consecutive edition hosted in Britain after Birmingham in 2022.

Questions over the relevance of the Commonwealth Games have persisted as more continental, regional and world championships emerge across different sports, with participation limited to nations that were mostly part of the former British Empire.

But Dr Donald Rukare, president of Commonwealth Sport, said on Wednesday: "India brings scale, youth, ambition, rich culture, enormous sporting passion and relevance, and I'm delighted to report strong interest from a range of nations to host the 2034 Games and beyond. We start our next century for the Commonwealth Games in good health."

Commonwealth Sport said the 2030 programme will include between 15 to 17 sports after a review. Athletics and para-athletics, swimming and para-swimming, table tennis and para table tennis, bowls and para bowls, weightlifting and para powerlifting, artistic gymnastics, netball and boxing have been included.

The rest of the programme will be finalised, and Ahmedabad can propose up to two new or "traditional" sports. Options include T20 cricket, hockey, wrestling, badminton, archery, rugby sevens, 3x3 basketball, cycling and diving.

A successful 2030 Games would add to India’s bid ambitions for the Olympics, with the next two Summer Games scheduled in Los Angeles in 2028 and Brisbane in 2032.