IOA approves India’s bid to host 2030 Commonwealth Games

Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha has confirmed that India will bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games in an attempt to follow up their effort of hosting the Olympics in 2036. The Commonwealth Games was last held in India in 2010. 

Reports indicate the capital of India, New Delhi, is being considered as a potential host city. Bhubaneswar in Odisha is being pushed as another option. However, these two cities are being understood to hold not much of a chance as compared to Ahmedabad, a vital city in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's home state of Gujarat.

“Our preparations will go ahead,” stated Usha after a meeting on Wednesday, as quoted by The Daily Tribune - News of Bahrain.

Ahmedabad is home to the Narendra Modi Stadium which hosted the final of the 2023 instalment of the Cricket World Cup. The 130,000-seater arena is the world’s biggest cricket stadium which is named after Modi.

India has previously submitted a formal letter of intent to the International Olympic Committee in relation to hosting the 2036 Games. The same report suggests that Nigeria and other countries have also expressed their interest in hosting the Commonwealth Games. Australia was supposed to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, however, it withdrew citing the reason of expenditure. 

Speaking about India, the cricket-crazy nation has staged the World Cup several times (1987, 1996, 2011, 2023). The Women's World Cup, which is scheduled to start in September later this year, will also be hosted by India. India has also hosted the Asian Games twice (1951 and 1982). India also promised that if the country wins the bid, the Commonwealth Games would be a “full-fledged” event.

"We will have all the sports we are good at and have a chance of winning maximum medals," stated IOA executive council member Rohit Rajpal, as quoted by the Times of India.