In a rather shocking decision Victoria has announced the cancellation of hosting the 2026 CWG citing rising costs. Needless to say with just 973 days left for the games, this is a terrible call for the Commonwealth Games movement. Having said that, costs were always going to be the issue that could decide the future of these mega events. Are they sustainable? Should cities jump in? Does the end result justify the billions of dollars spent? And what does this mean for the Commonwealth Games going forward?
The Olympics caravan moves to Paris in 2024 and to Los Angeles in 2028. Pedigreed good host cities with serious sporting heritage, the world’s largest sports spectacle will be in safe hands in Paris and LA. But that’s where the good stops. With Rio under the scanner for failing to make use of the white elephants it created and bribery charges still doing the rounds, the situation might soon turn alarming for the Olympics as well. Rather, for mega events in general.
There weren’t multiple bidders for the 2024 and 2028 Games. Prohibitive costs and negative legacy in the immediate aftermath has forced the hands of cities, which had earlier shown interest. Rio is still under the scanner for its dismal state of affairs. Most of the stadiums built for the games are unsustainable white elephants. Within a year of the games, nothing much was planned for the future and locals felt cheated by the organizers who had sold them the resurgence dream a year earlier. The circus had moved on and left devastation in its trail.
Be it the CWG or the Asian Games or the Panam, it is the same story everywhere as far as multi sports events are concerned. The 2010 experience was such that India has stayed away from bidding so far. Most stadiums in Delhi, just like in Rio, have not been used since and the thousands of crores spent on renovating the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium seemed a colossal waste of money. The story is grim in the global South. With underdevelopment and a widening gap between the rich and the poor a constant concern in these cities, staging the Olympics and the CWG have further added to the citizens’ growing frustration.
Seeing the writing on the wall, Durban decided it was best to withdraw from hosting the 2022 CWG. And now Victoria has done the same. While Birmingham stepped in to host the 2022 Games, it will again boil down to one or two cities stepping in to help save the CWG going forward. In fact, even that is now in doubt. Will Delhi step in or will it prudently opt to stay away is what is being asked?
So what’s the way forward for the CGF? What lesson does Victoria leave us with going into the future? Is there a way forward for these mega events and can they be made sustainable going forward?
It ultimately boils down to cost. Humungous staging costs are making these events unviable. The host cities can seriously look into cost cutting at opening ceremonies. Lavish opening ceremonies showcasing heritage and the cities’ glory isn’t worth in the long term. Millions of dollars spent in these ceremonies are bad investment. In trying to win the world’s attention, cities end up alienating its own citizens. Taxpayers money is wasted and by doing so the games get a bad mark.
More important than the opening and closing ceremonies are the construction of new venues. These stadiums are hardly ever used in the aftermath of the games and eventually end up telling tales of a dream gone sour. Yes Brazil won a handful of medals in Rio but are the people of Rio better off a year down the line? The answer is no. Crime has risen and the unused venues in Deodoro and Barra were a grim reminder of a failed dream.
Integration within existing infrastructure is the only way forward for the CGF. If that means limiting the number of events, so be it. If that means less of showcasing in front of the world, so be it. If that means the spectacle is any less, so be it. We need positive legacies from mega events and unless that happens, the number of host cities will continue to shrink going forward.
Ravaged by violence in recent times, staging the games will be a statement for Paris in 2024. More so after Covid. Hence the story is understandable. And that’s why Birmingham was a success. Fans wanted to come back and get their lives back post Covid. Birmingham lapped up the opportunity.
Will Delhi bid for the 2026 CWG? Or will Birmingham step in again? Is such a bid feasible? To be honest the CGF should be more than pleased to travel to India or to any city in the global South. But what trail will the spectacle leave behind? Will it be a legacy of civic unrest or will it be real development by a proper optimisation of costs involved? That’s what will define Commonwealth Games history in the future.