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The Nigerian capital Abuja lost the battle to host the Commonwealth Games 100 years after the inaugural event in Canada
Lawrence OstlereWednesday 26 November 2025 13:24 GMTComments
Raghuram Iyer, CEO of the Commonwealth Games Association of India, during the announcement in Glasgow (Jane Barlow/PA Wire)
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The 2030 Commonwealth Games will be hosted by the Indian city Ahmedabad after approval from members at a General Assembly in Glasgow.
Ahmedabad, also known as Amdavad in the western state of Gujarat, beat off competition the Nigerian capital Abuja for the right to host the event in its centenary year, 100 years on from the first Commonwealth Games in Hamilton, Canada.
India hosted the Commonwealth Games for the first time in Delhi in 2010. Glasgow is hosting a pared-down version of the Games next year after the Australian state of Victoria, the original host, pulled out citing escalating costs.
There remain concerns about the viability of the Games, which are costly to run, and existential questions about its place in the 21st century. Those doubts have contributed to a declining interest in hosting, and touted bids for 2030 from Canada, South Africa and Australia never materialised.
Daniel Andrews, the premier of the Australian state of Victoria, cancelled plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games last year, saying: “What’s become clear is that the cost of hosting these Games in 2026 is not the $2.6bn which was budgeted and allocated. It is in fact at least $6bn, and could be as high as $7bn.”
The organising committee of the Glasgow event next summer have a set a budget of £130-150m, with the majority coming from a £100m injection by the Commonwealth Games Federation, and a commitment to avoid charging any of the event to the public purse.
The Games proposes to unite the 72 nations and territories of the Commonwealth through the multi-sport event, which has been dubbed the “Friendly Games”.
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