Ahmedabad may bid to host 2026 Commonwealth games after Australia pulls out over cost concerns

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Commonwealth games may make a comeback in India after 16 years as Gujarat government is considering the prospects to make a bid to host the next Commonwealth Games. This comes as Australia withdrew its offer to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, yesterday due to rising costs. As per a ToI report, the original plan was to prepare Ahmedabad for the 2030 Commonwealth Games with a goal of completing all infrastructure projects by 2028.

However, the recent development with Victoria has prompted the state government to actively contemplate hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games instead. They are hopeful that the Union government will support Ahmedabad's bid for the event. ToI report, quoting top government sources said that the government is confident to finish all infrastructure works in time.

They said that all the projects for the 2036 Olympics bid would be completed by 2026. As per the report, a significant push for the Olympic bid has been under the personal supervision of Union Home Minister Amit Shah. The top leadership of the BJP has urged the state government to simultaneously initiate work on all related projects.

Meanwhile, the Gujarat government is also preparing to place a bid for hosting the 2036 Olympic Games. To prepare for the Olympics bid, the state government has recently engaged the services of Australia-based business planning consultancy, Populous. They have been tasked with creating a master-plan for Ahmedabad's potential Olympic bid.