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India is not the only country interested in hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games; it will compete with Nigeria for the rights to hold this major sporting event, as Nigeria has also officially submitted its bid by the deadline of August 31. The organization responsible for the Commonwealth Games, Commonwealth Sport (CS), confirmed Nigeria's bid submission on Monday. The Indian Olympic Association (IOA) announced on Friday that it has sent the final bid paperwork to Commonwealth Sport, proposing Ahmedabad as the main venue. Commonwealth Sport mentioned in a statement, "Both India and Nigeria have put in their official bids to host the centenary Commonwealth Games by the August 31, 2025 deadline. This follows an unprecedented variety of interest in hosting the Games in 2030 and beyond."
The Evaluation Commission, set up by the CS Executive Board, will look over both proposals, including live presentations from the candidate hosts at a meeting in London scheduled for late September. The Commission will share its findings with the CS Executive Board, which will then suggest a host city to the 74 member countries and territories for approval at the General Assembly in Glasgow, Scotland, in late November. This Evaluation Commission is led by Sandra Osborne, the CS vice president, who is also the chair of the sports committee and the president of the Barbados Commonwealth Games Association and Olympic Committee. Alongside Sandra Osborne are members of the Commission including Helen Phillips, Brendan Williams, Ian Reid, Andrew Ryan, and Darren Hall, who is a non-voting member.
Initially, Canada also showed interest in bidding for the 2030 Commonwealth Games but later decided to withdraw due to budget issues. Donald Rukare, the President of Commonwealth Sport, stated, "We are thrilled to announce that India and Nigeria have both submitted exciting formal bids to host the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2030. The positive response from these two strong sporting nations indicates the ongoing importance and potential legacy of the Commonwealth Games as well as the effectiveness of our new sustainable Games model. The 2030 Evaluation Commission now faces the crucial and challenging job of reviewing and assessing the bids and recommending a host to the Executive Board and, ultimately, the members of the Commonwealth Sport Movement." In January, Commonwealth Sport initiated a new cooperative host selection process for the Commonwealth Games, inviting its CGA members to express their interest in the 2030 Games and future events, with the deadline set for the end of March.
After this starting stage, CS collaborated closely with each interested CGA and their local representatives to determine if hosting was possible and to help create detailed plans. The CS 2023-2024 'Commonwealth United' Strategic Plan, which was introduced in June 2023, along with the 'Games Reset' approach, moves away from the usual host bidding method. These strategies provide flexibility, allowing potential hosts to be creative and work together in developing proposals for hosting the Games, while making sure that all Commonwealth Sport members can take part in a meaningful way.
