All but assured of the hosting rights more than a month back, India's 2030 Commonwealth Games bid is set to be formally approved on Wednesday at the Commonwealth Sport's general assembly in Glasgow, marking a major milestone in the country's ambitious plan to become a global multi-sport hub.
India last hosted the Games in 2010 in Delhi but this time, the multi-sport event would be coming to Ahmedabad, a city that has upgraded its sports infrastructure at war footing in the last one decade.
Wednesday's General Assembly will go through the formality of putting a seal of approval on what has already been recommended by the Commonwealth Sport's Board. That recommendation followed a process overseen by the Commonwealth Sport's Evaluation Committee. It assessed the candidate cities for "technical delivery, athlete experience, infrastructure, governance, and alignment with Commonwealth Sport values."
For the 2030 CWG bid, India was facing competition from the Nigerian city of Abuja. But Commonwealth Sport decided to instead consider the African nation for the 2034 edition after developing "a strategy for supporting and accelerating" its hosting ambitions.
"During the Assembly, members from across the Commonwealth will take the final decision regarding the host of the Centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030, following a presentation from India, outlining their vision for the Games in Amdavad (also known as Ahmedabad).
"The confirmation of the recommendation will be followed by a unique broadcast moment," stated a press note from Commonwealth Sport that gave a lowdown of how the day would pan out in the Scottish capital. A formal announcement is expected around 6.30pm (IST) and India is being represented by joint secretary (sports) Kunal, Indian Olympic Association (IOA) President P T Usha and Gujarat Sports Minister Harsh Sanghavi among others.
"The decision will mark a pivotal moment for the future of the Commonwealth Sport Movement, and a significant chapter in its 100-year history," the Commonwealth Sport added.
India had spent close to Rs 70,000 crore to host the 2010 edition of the Games, far exceeding the initial estimate of Rs 1600 crore. The quadrennial event, which has been struggling to stay relevant and find willing hosts for a while, features athletes from 72 countries, a majority of them former British colonies.
Getting the Games' hosting rights would be a significant milestone in India's quest to become an Olympic host in 2036, also proposed to be conducted in Ahmedabad. Interim President of Commonwealth Sport, Dr Donald Rukare, had said that the Executive Board found proposals from both India and Nigeria "inspiring" but ultimately chose Ahmedabad for 2030.
In recent months, Ahmedabad hosted the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships, the Asian Aquatics Championships and football's AFC Under-17 Asian Cup 2026 Qualifiers. Next year, it would be hosting the Asian Weightlifting Championship, and Asia Para-Archery Cup. In 2029, the World Police and Fire Games will be held in Ahmedabad, Gandhinagar, and Ekta Nagar.
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is one of the prime venues that is currently under development and apart from the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, which has a capacity of over one lakh, it is designed to house an aquatics centre and a football stadium along with two arenas for indoor sports. An athletes village that can house 3,000 is also set to be built inside this complex.
India promises grandeur
The 2026 CWG, which will be held in Glasgow, has been massively scaled down to prevent the budget from overshooting. The city, which intends to conduct the entire event within an eight-mile (approx 12km) radius, has kept the budget at a modest 114 million pounds (over Rs 1300 crore).
As a result, some major disciplines like wrestling, shooting, badminton and hockey have been left out of the 10-sport roster. India was bitterly opposed to this pruning as it severely dented its medal-yielding capacity. However, the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) has made it clear that the 2030 Games will have an elaborate programme featuring all the disciplines that have been dropped by Glasgow.
"The plan is to have all our medal-earning sports like shooting, archery, wrestling etc. Our traditional sports like kabaddi, and kho kho should also be there," IOA joint secretary Kalyan Chaubey had said.
Commonwealth Sport had acknowledged the world's most populous nation and its "proud sporting history and a strong record of Commonwealth Games success, finishing fourth on the medal table at Birmingham 2022."
"Amdavad's proposal emphasises India's commitment to the values of the Commonwealth and its capacity to stage a Games that reflects the scale and diversity of modern sport," it had said last month.
