The Union Cabinet headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, on Wednesday, approved India's bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games, naming Ahmedabad as the "ideal" venue because of its "world class stadiums, cutting-edge training facilities and a passionate sporting culture".
The decision comes days after the Indian Olympic Association (IOA) gave its nod to the proposal after a submission of the Expression of Interest in March. "The Union Cabinet, chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi approved the proposal of the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports for submission of bid for the Commonwealth Games (CWG) 2030," stated an official release issued by the Press Information Bureau (PIB).
"It also gave its approval to sign the Host Collaboration Agreement (HCA), along with the required guarantees from concerned ministries, departments and authorities and sanction of required grant-in-aid to Gujarat government in case the bid gets accepted," the release said.
August 31 is the last date to submit the bid for the event and the IOA is expected to complete the formalities in the next 48 hours. India last hosted the CWG in 2010. The General Assembly of Commonwealth Sport will decide the host country in the last week of November in Glasgow. India's chances of bagging the event have brightened as Canada has pulled out of the race, citing budgetary constraints.
The PIB statement after the cabinet meeting stated that Ahmedabad would be the ideal host city for the Games. "Ahmedabad is an ideal host city offering world class stadiums, cutting-edge training facilities and a passionate sporting culture. Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest stadium in the world, has already demonstrated its capability by successfully hosting the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup Final," it said.
India is also aiming to conduct the 2036 Olympic Games and for that too, Ahmedabad is a frontrunner as the host city. The city's sporting infrastructure is being upgraded with that ambition and it is hosting the Commonwealth Weightlifting Championships right now.
The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is one of the prime venues that is currently under construction and apart from the Narendra Modi Cricket Stadium, it is designed to house an aquatics centre and a football stadium, along with two arenas for indoor sports.
A full-scale budget for the 2030 edition is yet to be worked out, but it would be done in due course. The cost factor, it is learnt, will be determined during the negotiations with Commonwealth Sport depending on how big a roster we prepare. We would be able to work out an estimate close to the end of this year.
Elaborate roster planned for 2030
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 (about 12 km) radius, has kept the budget at a modest 114 million pounds (over Rs 1,300 crore). As a result, some major disciplines like wrestling, shooting, badminton and hockey have been left out of the 10-sport roster.
However, the IOA has made it clear that the 2030 Games, if they are held in India, 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 after a meeting in Delhi earlier this month. India had spent close to Rs 70,000 crore to host the 2010 edition of the Games, far exceeding the initial estimate of Rs 1,600 crore.
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