Your Say: Holding Commonwealth Games across several cities at once could be key to keeping the event alive
A view during the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, Britain, on Aug 8, 2022.
I refer to TODAY’s report on why the 2026 Commonwealth Games is struggling to find a host.
With the 2026 games seemingly doomed to be cancelled due to lack of a host, the Commonwealth of Nations may want to consider decentralising future events to several host cities instead.
This can significantly reduce the costs of hosting the games, particularly the need to build new facilities which risks being underutilised after the event.
Several different cities, or even small nations, can bid for hosting of one or more sports which they have more confidence in managing.
It could be a discipline popular in their own country or region, or a case of them having existing infrastructure that are well placed to host the events.
Given the global spread of Commonwealth countries, it should not be too difficult to find various hosts that can accommodate a schedule where the weather is conducive for competing.
While the economic benefits are less for the individual hosts, so are the costs and risks. With different events conducted simultaneously in different cities, the Games can be completed in a shorter period too than the typical 10 days or more presently.
While it means sportsmen and sportswomen from different disciplines may be in separate parts of the world, it may allow greater interaction among the fewer numbers onsite at each host city.
Ultimately, this approach provides opportunities for more cities and countries to host events of the Commonwealth Games and encourage participation from those which have never done so.
Some dilution of commercial sponsorship can be expected, but this may spur more attention on the sports themselves and enjoyment of simpler but more personal experiences of bringing people together.
There is no way for the Commonwealth Games to compete with the Olympics, or specialised sporting events like World Aquatics or the World Cup for football.
Perhaps a paradigm shift to focus more on member participation and meaningful camaraderie will help it establish its own niche to remain relevant.
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