Datanomics: Tracking the wealth that goes into hosting Commonwealth

The expenditure in hosting the CWG in 2002 in Manchester was 330.1 million pounds, while the recent Birmingham CWG in 2022 cost 810.9 million pounds

India and Nigeria  submitted their official bids to host the 2030 Commonwealth Games (CwG), with Ahmedabad being the preferred host city for India. However, many countries have pulled out of the race due to frequent budget overruns. With India’s economy being the fifth largest globally, it is not likely to face major financial hurdles in hosting the event, if lessons are learnt from the 2010 experience.  

 

Money matters 

 

The expenditure in hosting the recent Birmingham CwG in 2022 was 810.9 million pounds. Notably, the 2026 CwG in Scotland is likely to have a reduced roster of sporting disciplines due to budget constraints. 

 

Revenue records  

 

Manchester CwG of 2002 had its commercial revenue at 46 per cent of the games-related operating expenditure, as opposed to just 17 per cent for the 2018 event. Financially speaking, hosting the CwG remains a loss-making proposition, despite its prestige value for the host nation. 

 

Gujarat model of sports development  

 

India has 1,753 Olympic-level sports infrastructure. Of which, just 43 are in Gujarat. Ahmedabad has two newly constructed multipurpose sports complex — Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave and Veer Savarkar Sports Complex, which are set to host different multi-nation events in various sports, as a precursor to 2036 Summer Olympics.