CWG bid: Is India biting off more than it can chew with Olympics also in sight?

The public gaze has suddenly swung to India’s bid to stage the 2030 Commonwealth Games, with the Union cabinet giving its seal of approval on Wednesday. Will the next decade then be the most happening in the country’s history of hosting sporting showpieces, what with India also aspiring to host the Olympics 2036, or are we missing something here?

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) will be taking a decision on the 2030 hosts in end-November, and it’s a learned guess that India will be in pole position to host the centenary edition of the Games, given that Canada and Nigeria are the other two contenders. It won’t be an exaggeration to say that the CWG, which carries a somewhat irrelevant legacy of former British colonies, has struggled to find takers in recent times, and it will be a far easier proposition for India to handle rather than the Summer Olympics.

A look at the ground reality of the next edition of the CWG will make the scenario clear — Scotland’s Glasgow has stepped in to host a pared down version of the Games next year after the Australian state of Victoria, the original hosts, pulled out citing escalating costs. Malaysia, whom the CGF initially requested to play host along with a grant of £100 million, refused to play ball owing to the short timeline and were also not sure of the positive economic impact of the Games.

Olympic Games 2036: The surreal reality of India’s bid

It’s in this context that India’s bid assumes importance — the hype overtaking its grandiose plans of hosting Olympics 2036, now that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to hold its decision on the hosts for the next two to four years.

While the official line is that hosting CWG 2030 at Ahmedabad will give the world a heads-up about the country’s readiness to host the ‘greatest show on earth’, there is a growing perception that the CWG may be brought into the equation as Plan B if the Olympics bid falls flat.

Mind you, no country — however great a sporting power — has hosted a CWG and Olympics in such close succession. The likes of Italy and United States have hosted back-to-back Winter and Summer Olympics (1980, 1984) while countries like England and Australia have hosted multiple editions of the CWG at a gap of several years.  

India, of course, is no stranger to the Commonwealth Games, the 2010 edition in New Delhi being one of the biggest sporting extravaganzas ever held in the country, apart from the two Asian Games (1951 and 1982). The 2010 edition, incidentally, saw India’s best-ever performance in the Games as it finished second in the medals tally with a haul of 101 medals (38 gold, 27 silver and 36 bronze). The level of competition in the CWG makes it an easier proposition to rake in the medals, with India finishing among the top five in the last two editions with 66 and 61, respectively.

A look at the ground reality of the next edition of the CWG will make the scenario clear — Scotland’s Glasgow has stepped in to host a pared down version of the Games next year after the Australian state of Victoria, the original hosts, pulled out citing escalating costs. Malaysia, whom the CGF initially requested to play host along with a grant of £100 million, refused to play ball owing to the short timeline and were also not sure of the positive economic impact of the Games.

There is no gainsaying that hosting a mega event of the stature of CWG will lend fresh momentum to Ahmedabad’s efforts to expand the city’s urban and sports infrastructure in leaps and bounds. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's backyard already boasts the world’s largest cricket stadium while the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave is expected to be the nodal centre of activity for any multi-discipline showpiece.

It's also no longer a secret that the twin-cities of Ahmedabad-Gandhinagar have already started work beyond sports infrastructure on transport and urban planning. Such a makeover, should India eventually pursue the twin goals of hosting both the CWG and Olympics, may be a necessity, but the question is, can the country afford two such events in a space of six years?

There is already muted apprehension on social media as to how it’s going to impact the common people of the country. ‘’2030 Commonwealth Games, 2036 Olympics. Very difficult days ahead for the honest tax payer,’’ posted @ggganeshh on his X handle.

It's time then to keep our fingers crossed!