Commonwealth Games
After Birmingham 2022, Commonwealth Games face uncertain future
Birmingham rock icons Black Sabbath fittingly capped a buzzing fortnight in England’s second city at the Commonwealth Games closing ceremony on Monday but it may be the last time the multi-sport event makes such a big noise.
Reliable hosts Australia and the country’s sports-mad fans will welcome the 2026 Games in the southern state of Victoria but it promises to be a much different affair to the Birmingham bash.
Not unlike this year’s hosts, Victoria did not plan to stage the Games as quickly as 2026 but rode in as a white knight to the rescue when no other city bid for them.
In a handover during the closing ceremony, Indigenous Australian elders issued a welcome to “Naarm”, the Aboriginal name for the land where Melbourne sits.
But barring the opening ceremony, the Games are set to skip the Victoria capital and cultural heart, and scatter the sports across multiple regional centres.
Officials have touted infrastructure improvements and new jobs created in sleepy rural areas among a range of benefits along with themes like meeting diversity and inclusion commitments.
But the disparate nature of the Games may mean they struggle to reproduce the atmosphere and fan engagement that drove Birmingham’s success as a singular urban hub.
Other familiar questions will dog the Games through the interim period.
Hosts Australia, who finished top of the medals table in Birmingham, will be certain to push its champions into competition, and most will willingly grab the chance to dominate their sports in front of home fans.
Whether other nations’ athletes fancy the long trip Down Under is doubtful, given the profile of the Games struggles to match that of other meets.
The women’s 100 metres at Birmingham could have been a showdown between Jamaican trio Elaine Thompson-Herah, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce and Shericka Jackson, but only Thompson-Herah made the trip, with the others preferring a Diamond League meeting in Poland.
The 2018 Gold Coast Games were similarly given a wide berth by world class talent across a number of sports despite the lure of big crowds and shimmering beaches in the Queensland tourist mecca.
The cost of the Games and the dubious legacy benefits espoused by organisers have long drawn criticism, and even the Commonwealth Games Federation concedes that they must downsize to survive.
Organisers have tried to have the Games break from their colonial past but by their nature they remain rooted to the former British Empire and are seen as an anachronism in the post-colonial age.
Even in Australia, one of the Games’ staunchest supporters, progressive voices say they should be scrapped for failing to properly address the atrocities committed during colonial times.
Those criticisms are unlikely to fade with time but the Games are likely to plough on regardless.
Like 73-year-old Sabbath frontman Ozzy Osbourne, they can still put on a show even if their best years are well behind them.
-Reuters
Commonwealth Games
Nigeria Steps Up Bid to Host 2030 Commonwealth Games as Delegation Arrives London
A high-powered Nigerian delegation has arrived in London, United Kingdom, for the decisive phase of the country’s campaign to host the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2030.
The team is led by Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, and the Commission’s Director General, Bukola Olopade, who are set to present Nigeria’s final case before the Games’ decision-makers on Wednesday.
Dikko had delivered Nigeria’s preliminary pitch last month, laying the foundation for this week’s crucial engagements. If successful, the bid would make Nigeria the first African nation to host the Commonwealth Games since the event’s inception in 1930.
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has repeatedly reaffirmed the Federal Government’s full backing for the bid, assuring the international sporting community that Nigeria is ready to deliver a world-class Games.
Only last week, the President’s Chief of Staff, Femi Gbajabiamila, joined other senior government officials in welcoming the Commonwealth Games Bid Evaluation team during their inspection visit to Nigeria.
Further demonstrating the administration’s commitment, the President’s Special Assistant on Public Communication and Presidential Spokesperson, Sunday Dare, is part of the London delegation.
Other members of the Nigerian contingent include Bid Coordinator Mainasara Ilo; President of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, Habu Gumel; Minister of Arts and Culture, Hannatu Musawa; five-time Olympian and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medalist, Mary Onyali; and current para-badminton world number one, Eniola Bolaji.
Nigeria’s 2030 bid is anchored on themes of inclusivity, legacy, and development, with promises to stage a Games that not only reflects the Commonwealth spirit but also creates lasting opportunities for sport, culture, and youth empowerment across Africa.
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Nigeria’s push to become the first African country to host the Commonwealth Games gained momentum on Tuesday as the National Sports Commission (NSC) received the Commonwealth Sport Bid Evaluation Committee in Abuja.
NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko and Director General Bukola Olopade reaffirmed the Federal Government’s determination to secure the hosting rights for the 2030 Games, describing the bid as a landmark opportunity for Africa and a historic milestone for Nigeria.
Dikko stressed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, has thrown his full weight behind the bid, highlighting it as a platform to showcase Nigeria’s growing influence in global sports.
“We are delighted to welcome the Evaluation Committee to Abuja as a sign of our seriousness,” Dikko said.
“President Tinubu sees the Commonwealth Games as more than just an event; it will be a celebration of Africa’s sporting passion and Nigeria’s role as a continental leader.”
Olopade added that Nigeria’s bid is built on four critical pillars—modern facilities, political will, private sector support, and strong public enthusiasm.
He noted that the Bid Committee, led by veteran sports administrator Mainasara Illo, has prepared a “robust document” to strengthen Nigeria’s case.
“With our preparations, engagements, and strong government backing, we are confident Nigeria can win the right to host the Games,” Olopade said.
Underscoring government commitment, the delegation was hosted at the Presidential Villa by the Chief of Staff to the President, Femi Gbajabiamila, alongside nine Federal Executive Council members, including Minister of Youth Ayodele Olawande, Minister of Culture and Creative Economy Hannatu Musa Musawa, and Minister of Women Affairs Hajiya Imaan Sulaiman-Ibrahim.
The visiting delegation, led by Darren Hall, Director of Games and Assurance at the Commonwealth Sport, included Ann-Louise Morgan, CS Director of Sport, and Ezera Tshabangu, Regional Development Manager for Africa and Europe.
Nigeria’s bid, if successful, would make the 2030 Commonwealth Games the first ever to be hosted on African soil, fulfilling a long-standing call for inclusivity in the Commonwealth sporting family.
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Nigeria may have a major African challenger in the bid to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games. South Africa is preparing to join the competition. The Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) had announced a Nigerian bid in April. This follows the failed bid in 2007 for the 2014 Games.
The earlier bid was made to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the amalgamation. This amalgamation joined the Northern and Southern Protectorates with the Lagos Colony to form Nigeria.
Sports Village Square has gathered that South Africa, through its Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC), is making a bid and is merely waiting for cabinet approval.
The country intends to use the Commonwealth Games of 2030 as a dress rehearsal for the bigger Olympic Games.
According to the SASCOC president, Barry Hendricks, the 2030 Commonwealth Games hosting will be part of the learning curve for the Olympics. “… it teaches us what we can do over the next eight years to get to 2040.”
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