GLASGOW, Aug 3 (Reuters) – The curtain came down on the 23rd Commonwealth Games in a glittering closing ceremony in Glasgow on Sunday night as the movement turned its eyes to India in search of a much-needed shot in the arm in 2030.
The quadrennial event for mainly former British colonies has struggled for relevance in the modern era and been beset by problems after the hosts of the last two editions pulled out in the face of the costs of putting on a multi-sport extravaganza.
The slimmed-down version in Glasgow — 10 sports as opposed to the 17 to 20 in the previous six editions — was funded by the compensation paid by the Australian state of Victoria after it pulled out of hosting in 2023 and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
The centenary gathering in four years’ time in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad promises a return to the stability in hosting that existed before Durban was stripped of the right to stage the 2022 Games and replaced by Birmingham.
Katie Sadleir, the chief executive of Commonwealth Sport, promised 15 to 17 sports in an “exciting and dynamic” event in Ahmedabad, while the deputy chief minister of Gujarat, Harsh Sanghavi, said hosting the Games was a “significant milestone” for India.
“India is committed to establishing itself as a sporting capital of a global state,” he told a briefing in Glasgow on Sunday.
“We aspire to host the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2036, and the Commonwealth Games is an opportunity to demonstrate India’s readiness to deliver world-class sporting events for athletes, for spectators and for the entire world.”
Although local hero Josh Kerr, South African veteran Chad le Clos and the all-powerful Australian swimming team ensured there were world-class performers in Glasgow, the Commonwealth Games has long ceased to be an essential event for the elite of the sporting world.
Olympic champion athletes Julien Alfred and Keely Hodgkinson skipped the 2026 Games along with Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh, who already has three Olympic and eight world titles at the age of 19.
The Commonwealth Games continues to be a proving ground for young talent, however, and there have been successful innovations, most notably the full integration of para events into the schedule.
With a lead-in of less than two years, Glasgow managed to put on 11 days of competition for 3,000 athletes and 434,000 fans in existing venues for around a third of the cost of the 2014 Games in the city.
That, Glasgow 2026 chief executive Phil Batty said, had proved not all Commonwealth Games had to fit the same mold.
“We have created a belief among 74 nations that every single nation could and should host the Commonwealth Games,” he told Sunday’s briefing.
“The Commonwealth Games, wherever it is hosted, should look and feel different and celebrate the identity, the character, the infrastructure, the communities and people of whichever nation is hosting.
“And with this new more flexible, sustainable, smarter, more inclusive approach to delivering a major sporting event, you will see every edition of the Games over the next 40 years with a different feel, dynamic and character.”
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney in Sydney, editing by Peter Rutherford)
