MUMBAI: The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has said that the Canadian Province of Alberta has withdrawn a bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
The reason given by Alberta, who was the “preferred host” is exhaustive costs, the same reason which forced Victoria to pull out of staging the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“It has given us the opportunity to have a look at who is interested, but at the same time think about what we might do that might be quite different, so that process is ongoing, so that process is ongoing in terms of having discussions with some of our members to talk about what could be the opportunities in the short-term,” CGF chief executive Katie Sadleir told insidethegames.
“We were in a bid process for 2030 and are still for 2034, we put that out to our members, and we will continue having discussions with some of our members that are potential hosts that are interested in the Games.”
Last month, Australia’s Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of a blowout in projected costs. The 2026 Games had been scheduled for March 17-29 in the regional centers of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
Alberta’s Minister of Tourism and Sport Joseph Schow said the Province could not justify the costs of hosting the Commonwealth Games.
“We committed to remain transparent with Albertans about the costs of hosting international sporting events and clearly demonstrating a return on our investment for the people and communities in Alberta,” Schow said. “That is why we have made the decision not to continue pursuing the bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games.”
Based on current bid estimates, hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games could result in a cost of up to CAD$2.68 billion (£1.6 billion/$2.0 billion/€1.8 billion).
