Commonwealth Games 2026

Vorlage:Commonwealth Games infoboxThe 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games, is a multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth to be organised in a city designated by the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF). The host city was initially intended to be selected at the 2019 CGF General Assembly in Kigali, Rwanda. On 16 June 2019, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) confirmed that it will decide the host city in 2020.

Bidding calendar

During the CGF General Assembly on 31 March 2017 in Gold Coast, the executive board announced that they had planned to award both 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games simultaneously at the CGF General Assembly in September 2019. The 71 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) were informed of an 18-month-long consultative bidding process for the 2026 and 2030 editions of the Games, under the new CGF Partnerships model. This step will allow the Commonwealth Sports Movement to capitalise on the Federation's innovative new Games delivery model, CGF Partnerships (CGFP) which aims to support host nations and cities and enhance the overall value of hosting the Games.

Bidding process of the 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games

Express interest (launched in April 2018)	Commitment to bid (deadline 31 December 2018)		CGF General Assembly (2020)
Dialogue phase Frame opportunity Understand impact Stakeholder initial engagement	Feasibility phase Develop games concept Test feasibility Align stakeholders	Candidature phase Finalise games concept plan Develop candidate file Secure guarantees and funding	Evaluation of the bids

Possible bids

Asia

• Vorlage:Flagicon Shah Alam, Malaysia

On 27 August 2019, Amirudin Shari, Menteri Besar of Selangor announced that the state capital Shah Alam can host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) president Datuk Seri Mohamad Norza Zakaria supported the decision of hosting the games.

Oceania

• Vorlage:Flagicon Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is considering bidding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games after hosting the 2015 Pacific Games. The city hosted the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup. It would mark the first Commonwealth Games to be held in Papua New Guinea.

Cancelled potential bids

Asia

• Vorlage:Flagicon Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Olympic Council of Malaysia President Tunku Imran has revealed the Commonwealth Games Federation's (CGF) inspection visit of Kuala Lumpur is as much about assessing the city's capability for hosting the 2026 event as 2022. Imran suggested that Kuala Lumpur would be willing to wait to enter the race for the 2026 event instead of staging it in 2022. The city staged the 1998 Commonwealth Games as well as the 2001 and the 2017 Southeast Asian Games. On 22 April 2018, Tunku Imran said Malaysia is capable of hosting 2026 Commonwealth Games, however, it is up to the new government to decide whether to bid for it or not.

On 2 July 2018, Tunku Imran has stated that Malaysia is not ready to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, stating that hosting the quadrennial games has become relatively expensive for many countries.

Europe

• Vorlage:Flagicon Liverpool, England

Liverpool was planning to bid for the 2026 games, but only if funding was available from the UK Government. Mayor Joe Anderson argued that Liverpool could use the Games as ‘a catalyst for regeneration’ across the city region if successful. Anderson has also suggested that a proposed new Everton stadium could play a key part in a Commonwealth Games bid. Liverpool put in a bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games but lost out to Birmingham, and given that Birmingham has been confirmed as host for 2022, the subsequent 2026 Games will not be held in England.

• Vorlage:Flagicon Birmingham, England

Birmingham was planning to bid for the 2026 games. City MPs, sports stars including Olympic medallists Mark Lewis-Francis and Katharine Merry, and former Prime Minister David Cameron expressed support for the Birmingham bid. The Alexander Stadium, Villa Park, Edgbaston and the Arena Birmingham were to be the bidding venues. Birmingham successfully bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games.

• Vorlage:Flagicon Cardiff, Wales

Cardiff was previously interested in bidding for the 2022 games, with some events to be held in Newport and Swansea, however Cardiff Council announced they were instead in discussions for a bid for the 2026 games. On 26 July 2016 it was announced that Cardiff would not look to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026. Media reports stated this was due to the uncertain situation regarding Brexit and funding concerns. On 27 May 2017 it was announced that the Welsh Government were in "discussions", and considering a joint bid with Birmingham or Liverpool to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, following Durban's rights to host the event being stripped due to financial difficulties. Wales mainly sought to host outdoor events such as the triathlon, rowing or the cycling road race in the 2022 games, however, the rights were ultimately awarded solely to Birmingham on 21 December 2017.

North America

• Vorlage:Flagicon Edmonton, Canada

Edmonton is Canada's fifth-largest metropolitan region and the second-largest city in, as well as the capital of, the Province of Alberta. It is home to a number of professional sports associations (most notably the Edmonton Eskimos (CFL) football team, the Edmonton Oilers (NHL) ice hockey team and the FC Edmonton (CPL) association football club). The 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1983 Summer Universiade and the 2001 World Championships in Athletics were all held in Edmonton, and the city has also hosted some matches of the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup. There are plans to build a new velodrome to replace the ageing Argyll Velodrome. The ageing Northlands Coliseum was replaced as the city's main indoor venue by the new Rogers Place in 2016. Edmonton initially planned to bid for the 2022 Games but on February 11, 2015, Edmonton announced it was withdrawing its bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, citing financial reasons and a global fall in oil prices. The bid team said they would instead focus on the 2026 games.

Edmonton confirmed in 2019 it would not pursue its Commonwealth Games bid due to, among other concerns, prior commitments to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

In addition, Canada would likely prefer to bid for the 2030 games as it would coincide with the 100th anniversary of the first Commonwealth Games held in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Oceania

• Vorlage:Flagicon Sydney, Australia

In May 2018, Chief Executive of Commonwealth Games Australia Craig Philips wrote to the states seeking expressions of interest to host the 2026 or 2030 Games. New South Wales Opposition Leader Luke Foley said that Sydney should make a bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games because it would fast-track the construction of transportation system and affordable housing in the region and also the city already has the sporting facilities as it hosted the 2000 Summer Olympics, Paralympics and also the Gay Games two years later. The New South Wales Minister for Sport Stuart Ayres informed the that they aren't interested to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Sydney because the Government of New South Wales want to focus on world cups.

• Vorlage:Flagicon Perth, Australia

The city of Perth, which hosted the 1962 Commonwealth Games, had a review into infrastructure needed. After building Perth Stadium, a 60,000 seat stadium, the West Australian capital had been urged to bid. An audit of the city's sporting facilities was commissioned to determine what infrastructure upgrades would be needed to host the event. However, on December 30 2018, it was announced that the 2026 Commonwealth Games bid was to be abandoned as too costly and the city would instead bid for the 2029 IAAF World Championships in Athletics.

• Vorlage:Flagicon Adelaide, Australia

It was reported on 12 September 2018 that representatives of CGF visited Adelaide and toured potential venues as the city is considering a bid for the 2026 Games. The Adelaide Oval could be the venue for athletics and the opening and closing ceremonies. The Adelaide Convention Centre would be used for table tennis, weightlifting, volleyball, gymnastics, boxing and wrestling events, while the Coopers Stadium and Adelaide Entertainment Centre in Hindmarsh would host the rugby sevens and swimming events respectively. Netball would be held at the Priceline Stadium in Mile End, while the SuperDrome in Gepps Cross would be utilised for track cycling. In Marion, the South Australia Aquatic and Leisure Centre could stage the diving events. The Athletes' Village can be built within the Adelaide CBD. However on 18 September 2019 Adelaide withdrawn its Commonwealth Games bid due to lack of sporting keys.

• Vorlage:Flagicon New Zealand

Auckland

The events arm of Auckland Council has raised the possibility of a bid to host the Commonwealth Games, possibly as early as 2026. Key figures have backed the idea, saying New Zealand needs to take its turn at hosting the Games, which were last there in Auckland in 1990. Auckland also hosted the 2017 World Masters Games. World Masters Games chief executive Jennah Wootten also expressed her hope that New Zealand will investigate the possibility of staging the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Christchurch

In the 2017 General Election, Councillor Raf Manji ran as an independent candidate for the electorate of Ilam. As a major part of his campaign he promoted the idea of having Christchurch host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. He envisioned Christchurch to host the games with new facilities yet to be built: these would include a large scale stadium and a metro sports facility, replacing those damaged and demolished following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake. Councillor Manji believed it would provide an opportunity for the city to incorporate large scale investment into a promotional sporting event. Raf Manji garnered 22.8% of the electorates vote but lost to incumbent Gerry Brownlee.

There has been much public support for the hosting of the games in Christchurch, with articles being published in local papers and at least one submission being made to the Christchurch City Council, prior to Councillor Raf Manji's election campaign. Much of this support has come from people who remember the 1974 Commonwealth Games held in the city, the games were very popular and were deemed by many as a rare success of such a large sporting event.