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India get hosting rights for 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad
India has secured the rights to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, marking its first major sporting event since 2010.
New Delhi: India on Wednesday earned the hosting rights for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in Ahmedabad, bagging its first multi-disciplinary mega sporting event since 2010 Commonwealth Games in Delhi. The Commonwealth Sport (CS) approved the hosting of 2030 Games in Ahmedabad at its general assembly in Scotland on Wednesday. The 2030 CWG will demonstrate the country’s ambition and commitment to host the 2036 Olympics, for which India has bid with Ahmedabad as host city.
The recommendation of Ahmedabad as host city follows a detailed process overseen by the Commonwealth Sport Evaluation Committee, which assessed candidate cities against a wide range of criteria including technical delivery, athlete experience, infrastructure, governance, and alignment with Commonwealth Sport values.
Dr Donald Rukare, President of Commonwealth Sport said: “This is the start of a new golden era for Commonwealth Sport. After a ‘Games reset’ we head to Glasgow 2026 in fantastic shape to welcome the 74 teams of the Commonwealth before setting our sights on Amdavad 2030 for a special Centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games. 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.”
“We are deeply honoured by the trust shown by Commonwealth Sport. 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,” said IOA President PT Usha.
Ahmedabad and Abuja, Nigeria, had submitted proposals to host the 2030 edition of the Games. The CS Executive Board last month proposed Ahmedabad’s name as host city for 2030 Games to its general assembly for a final approval. It said Nigeria’s hosting ambitions for future Games will be considered for 2034.
The 2030 Games in Ahmedabad will mark the centenary of the inaugural event held in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930. Ahmedabad 2030 has been projected as ‘The Games for the Next Century’, ensuring the Games remain relevant, impactful, and viable for the next century. The hosting of the Commonwealth Games has gone through tough times in recent years as Victoria had pulled out as hosts for the 2026 edition citing cost escalation in organizing the Games.
The Sports Programme
In addition to confirming the hosts for 2030, Commonwealth Sport also confirmed that 15 – 17 sports will feature at Amdavad 2030. “The Amdavad 2030 team will work closely with Commonwealth Sport and the international federation community to shape a dynamic and exciting sport programme with strong local resonance and global appeal,” CS said in a statement.
This will follow Commonwealth Sport’s recently concluded Sport Programme Review which outlines the sports which will feature at the Commonwealth Games: 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.
The process to finalise the remainder of the programme will start next month, and line-up will be announced next year. The sports under consideration are: Archery, Badminton, 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cricket T20, Cycling, Diving, Hockey, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Triathlon and Para Triathlon and Wrestling. The host can also propose up to two new or traditional sports.
“The decision confirms that the world’s most populous nation will stage the landmark edition of the Games, after delegates of the 74 Commonwealth member nations and territories ratified India’s bid at today’s Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow. India presented a compelling vision for the 2030 Games, centred in the Gujarat city of Amdavad (Ahmedabad), which will build on foundations laid by Glasgow 2026, enabling India to celebrate the centenary in style,” CS said in a statement.
Glasgow came to the rescue and took on the responsibility to host 2026 editio but with a curtailed sports programme. However, Ahmedabad CWG will provide the lifeline to the Games and a full-fledged sports programme along with integration of para-sport will be organized. Ahmedabad’s bid proposal reflects India’s commitment to deliver a Games that is “sustainable, inclusive and aligned with the CWG reset principles, according to IOA.
India’s proposal is guided by the Commonwealth Sport Reset Principles, which place athletes at the heart of the Games. According to the reset principles of CS, “hosting costs will be significantly reduced from historical CWG costs to diversify the hosting pipeline and enable more, new countries and territories to host.”
Ahmedabad is already in preparation mode and hosting several international sporting events. The Commonwealth Weightlifting Championship was held in August at the newly completed Veer Savarkar Sports Complex in Naranpura. The Complex has been developed as a multi-sport hub with an aquatics centre, an indoor multisport arena, a Centre for Sports Excellence, and community sports facilities built at a projected cost of about ₹850 crore. The Asian Aquatics Championship was also organized in the city in October at the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave in Motera, a 300-acre complex anchored by the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium that also houses other facilities and indoor arenas for various sports.
