2030 Commonwealth Games gasp at cost altar

Image: Commonwealth Stadium, SJS12, CC BY-SA 3.0

The Government of Alberta (Canada) has pulled its support for a bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games due to rising costs.

‘sky sports’ stated that the Canadian province had considered a joint bid for the Games, centered on Edmonton and Calgary. However, the Tourism and Sports Minister Joseph Schow said the cost was estimated at £1.5bn – a bill “too high for the province to bear”.

The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multisport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exception of 1942 and 1946, has successively run every four years since.

The 2030 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIV Commonwealth Games, will be held in 2030 for members of the Commonwealth. 2030 will mark the centenary of the Games, first held as the British Empire Games, which has been held under various names (British Empire and Commonwealth Games, British Commonwealth Games and finally Commonwealth Games) on a quadrennial basis ever since, save for the Games canceled due to World War II.

‘sky sports’ further stated that the above decision is another blow for the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) after Hamilton, Ontario (Canada), which hosted the inaugural Games in 1930, suspended its bid and the Australian State Victoria last month withdrew as host of the 2026 Games due to projected cost overruns.

Glasgow (Scotland, UK) hosted the event in 2014, and the Government figures suggest the total cost was around £543m ($691m), while last year’s event was held in Birmingham (UK) after the CGF stripped the South African City Durban of hosting rights back in 2017.

London (UK)-based the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as the Commonwealth Sport, is the international organization responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and Commonwealth Youth Games, and is the governing body of the Commonwealth Games Associations.

The Commonwealth Youth Games is an international multisport event organized by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The Games were held in the years, midway between when the Commonwealth Games are held, until 2008. They continued to be held every four years, but in the year after the Commonwealth Games are held, from 2011 to 2015. Since 2017, they’ve been held in the year before the Commonwealth Games are held. The first edition was held in Edinburgh, Scotland from August 10^th-14^th, 2000.

A Commonwealth Games Association is a National Sports Council of the Commonwealth Sport Movement. Each association is responsible for organizing, supporting and overseeing their national team for both the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The 2022 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Birmingham 2022, was an international multisport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations that took place in Birmingham, England (UK) between July 28^th and August 8^th, 2022.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, has said he would support a bid for the capital to host in 2026, but said any final decision would need to be made by the Government.

After Alberta’s decision to pull the plug on their bid to host in 2030, the Commonwealth Sport Canada said in a statement, “We believe the recent decision by the Victorian Government to withdraw from the 2026 Commonwealth Games was a significant factor in Alberta’s decision, as well as an overdependence on taxpayers’ support for the planning and delivery of the Games. Commonwealth Sport Canada is profoundly disappointed in the Alberta Government’s decision but respects their right to make this decision.”

The Alberta Government had committed up to $2 million and the City of Edmonton another $1 million to explore the feasibility of hosting the Games.

The initial plan was to host the Games over 11 days in August 2030 with competitions and events spread between Calgary and Edmonton, as well as the Tsuut’ina Nation (fairground in Canada) and the Enoch Cree Nation.

The Enoch Cree Nation #440 is a First Nations band Government in Alberta, Canada. Members of the Nation belong to the Cree ancestry and speak the Plains Cree dialect of the Cree language group. The band is a signatory of Treaty 6 and is a member of the Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations.

The Confederacy of Treaty Six First Nations was created in the Spring of 1993 with the purpose of serving as the United Political voice for those Treaty Nations who are signatories of Treaty No. 6 for the continued protection of the fundamental Treaty, Inherent and Human Rights of the Treaty people of those Nations.

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