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Cardiff 2026


Sir Rols

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Commonwealth Games bid given initial Government backing

The Welsh Government has given its first backing to audacious plans for Cardiff to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026.

The Labour Government last night confirmed it had made a commitment to work alongside Cardiff council to investigate the feasibility of staging the event.

The announcement comes as a council “scoping exercise” report revealed that staging the Games could cost more than half a billion pounds.

The potential £530m bill is based on the budgets set for the 2014 Glasgow and 2018 Gold Coast Games.

The figure, however, doesn’t take into account inflation.

The report states that based on Glasgow, £350m of the budget would be met by national government, £80m by local government (council) and £100m via “commercial operations”.

The Commonwealth Games Council for Wales, which would make the formal bid, stressed it was only a “ballpark figure” and that the feasibility work would estimate the potential costs and benefits.

As first reported in February, a successful bid would see around 6,000 athletes from 71 nations compete in 10 ‘core’ sports.

The scoping exercise was carried out in the summer to provide more detail on how the capital, as well as the wider South Wales region, could host one of the world’s biggest sporting events. It reveals:

Cardiff, Newport and Blaenau Gwent could all host competition and training venues;

Existing stadiums and other landmark venues will be used where possible;

Temporary venues will be created to avoid the need for creating new infrastructure;

The creation of a new athletes’ village is the single most important element of the bid;

The Games’ lasting legacy will be to increase grassroots participation in sport.

Chris Jenkins, the executive director of the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales, said the recent awarding of the 2018 Games to the Gold Coast, in Queensland, Australia, was a boost to Cardiff’s prospects.

Like the Gold Coast, the proposal for Cardiff is to make best use of existing infrastructure spread out across a wider region, rather than creating a purpose-built sports complex.

The capital’s Millennium Stadium could be reduced in capacity for the athletics, with a raised running track taking the place of the first few rows of seating.

A temporary tank at the International Sports Village in Cardiff Bay would host aquatics, while rowing could be held in the Bay and canoe/kayak at the Cardiff International White Water centre.

Other venues include Cardiff City Stadium (rugby sevens), Welsh Institute of Sport (lawn bowls), the Millennium Centre (weightlifting), St Davids Hall (boxing and judo), Newport Centre (squash), Wales National Tennis Centre (tennis), Newport Velodrome (cycling) and Blaenau Gwent’s Blaengarw Park (triathlon).

Cardiff would also need to build an indoor arena with a capacity of about 10,000 seats for sports such as netball, badminton, gymnastics and table tennis.

Mr Jenkins said: “Part of the issue when hosting these events is that you end up building venues that become ‘white elephants’ you don’t really need.

“The scoping exercise looked at how many of the core sports can be held in existing venues to avoid that negative legacy.

“With the bidding process, you really begin with the legacy, because, in a sense, the Games are just 10 days – a relatively short timeframe.”

The first meeting of the Commonwealth Games Partnership – comprising the Government, council, Commonwealth Games Council for Wales and Sport Wales – takes place on December 8.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “We have made a commitment to work with Cardiff council to look at the feasibility of bidding to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

“We are working with the council and other key stakeholders, such as the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales, to meet that commitment.

“The initial feasibility study will be done in-house, at no cost.”

Councillor Nigel Howells, executive member for sport, leisure and culture, said: “We are enthusiastic about the potential to host the Commonwealth Games, and we welcome the Welsh Government’s decision to back a feasibility study in order for us to progress to the next stage.

“Cardiff has exceptional experience of hosting international sporting events and we are committed to exploring new avenues to cement the city on the world sporting stage,” he added.

Wales Online

So, it's likely 2026 rather than 2022. I wonder if the assumption is that 2022 is already destined for South Africa?

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They've probably factored that in. And 2022 would be too soon to return to the UK again.

Yeap... 2022 will be just Africa, Abuja against Durban. Maybe an asian as the outsider....

I don't think Cardiff would be the fav. especially with a strong bid from an English and possibly a New Zealand bid.

Christchurch! :D i expect a Canadian bid to (if they fail the SOG 2024)

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I don't think Cardiff would be the fav. especially with a strong bid from an English and possibly a New Zealand bid.

Can't see an English bid going up against Cardiff if they declare an interest. Both would require 100% government support for a start!

Durban/Cape Town '22

Cardiff '26

Sounds good to me.

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Can't see an English bid going up against Cardiff if they declare an interest. Both would require 100% government support for a start!

Durban/Cape Town '22

Cardiff '26

Sounds good to me.

Good point. So Hambantota is gonna have it difficult :lol:

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Can't see an English bid going up against Cardiff if they declare an interest. Both would require 100% government support for a start!

Durban/Cape Town '22

Cardiff '26

Sounds good to me.

Yeah, I'd imagine England wouldn't stand in Wales' way. Any competition Cardiff will have will come from outside.

And I still don't see Hambantota being a viable contender in the future unless they DO go ahead and build their sports precinct first.

2022 Durban/CT/Jo'burg

2026 Cardiff

2030 Hamilton/Toronto

Sounds a good, and reasonably achievable sequence to me. A far more likely outcome than trying to predict the Olympic hosts sequence over the same period. Canada really has to be thrown a bone by the CGF soon. Singapore, if they ever decide to bid, could be the main spanner in the works to break up such a sequence.

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The capital’s Millennium Stadium could be reduced in capacity for the athletics, with a raised running track taking the place of the first few rows of seating.

Interesting. Hampden Park is losing 6000 seats with its platform solution, but it's a fairly ovular stadium. This sort of solution for Cardiff would see a much bigger reduction in the capacity, however, as the Millennium Stadium is rectangular. Whilst it will never happen, Wembley Stadium is designed to take a plaform for athletics should it be needed in the future, but the capacity would be reduced by a third to 60,000 (you basically lose the lower tier). Using this as a template, taking the lower tier out of the Millennium Stadium would reduce its capacity to 49,000, only 3000 more than Hampden Park will have during its CWGs, and that despite it being 20k larger than its Scottish equivilent normally.

Hampden Park:

hampden30.jpg

Wembley:

inside-of-wembley.jpg

Millennium Stadium:

thumb_840_2_Millennium_Stadium.jpg

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I would be happy with Cardiff 2026 but would also like to see Birmingham bid, or even Liverpool. I agree that we will only see 1 bid from the UK. I cannot see rival British bids for the same games. Has that ever happened before?

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I would be happy with Cardiff 2026 but would also like to see Birmingham bid, or even Liverpool. I agree that we will only see 1 bid from the UK. I cannot see rival British bids for the same games. Has that ever happened before?

M

No, i think it hasnt happened before, and maybe the UK will make a intern process if needed. Liverpool will be nice option ;)

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Christchurch! :D

I dunno, just came back from that city yesterday, even with an eight year lead in to the 2019 bid, the city would simply not cope with the debt. If it's going to be NZ, then it will have to be Auckland (yet again) or Wellington - especially if the format of the Games looks like they are going to change.

Cardiff would round out nicely the UK home countries hosting a good space of time between them.

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M

No, i think it hasnt happened before, and maybe the UK will make a intern process if needed. Liverpool will be nice option ;)

Yet the CGF considers England and Wales (and Scotland, Northern Ireland and the others for that matter) as separate Federations.

I suppose if it comes down to national funding, I suppose the British government could support both, as it would only need to pay for one, but must offer the same amount for all, it's up to the nations themselves and regional governments to fund the rest.

- Bid money must come from local sources and not the British government.

- Funding offered by the British government must be a set amount to be distributed to the proposed venues for each city's bid (regardless if one city is smaller then another, or if one offers more than the other). So if the British government is willing to offer 500 million British Pounds of public funding, then both cities will be secured that amount (of course only one will win and be paid that amount).

- Remainder of funds must be secured by public and private means locally.

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  • 8 months later...

For the larger indoor arena, something similar to the 2012 Basketball Arena could be built along with a version of the 2012 Water Polo arena modified for a range of acquatic events.

Even at 50,000 seats, the Millenium stadium would be excellent for Athletics, whilst a warm up track could utilise the 12,000 seat Cardiff Arms Park stadium next door.

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Don't think there's anything really new in this, but it is the latest bit of post-games pondering from the UK:

Commonwealth Games 2026 Wales considers bid

A bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Wales is being considered, BBC Wales has learned.

It is understood a feasibility study is being carried out into the costs of hosting the event.

The Welsh government said it was working with Cardiff council and other "key stakeholders".

Anne Ellis, Games president, questioned whether Wales could afford it. The Commonwealth Games Council for Wales said no decision had been made.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow.

The Welsh government said: "We have made a commitment to work with Cardiff City Council to look at the feasibility of bidding to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

"We are working with the council and other key stakeholders, such as the Commonwealth Games Council for Wales (CGCW), to meet that commitment."

Chris Jenkins, of CGCW said there was "no decision yet, but the work has started on the feasibility study".

He said there was a lot of work to be done, and the CGCW was also working with the Commonwealth Federation.

Anne Ellis, Chef de Mission for Wales at the Commonwealth Games 2006, and the current president of the Commonwealth Games, said the cost was likely to be "in the hundreds of millions".

She added: "We all know that it would be brilliant for the athletes and really good for Wales in an outward-looking perspective, but whether we can afford it and whether we have the volunteers and we have the infrastructure, that's another matter, and we can only find out by a feasibility study."

Asked if Wales could afford it, she replied: "If it would mean that we were not able to support school sports or closures of swimming pools or grounds anywhere, I think we couldn't.

"If we could guarantee that school sports would have all the funding they needed, clubs and the infrastructure in Welsh sport would continue to have the money they need to play their sport, and we can guarantee we're not going to close swimming pools, we're not going to close playing fields, then I think it would be a runner.

"But we have to look at all sides of it."

BBC

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Would eight years be too soon for another 'home' country to host?

But then its not like there's a queue to host them. In the immediate post Olympic buzz enthusisim is always high but eventually we see reality within a year.

Also the really cool sports are thin on the ground at the CWGs.

I would love to see Rowing/Canoeing/Slalom in along with sailing. Handball would also fit in nicely.

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Would eight years be too soon for another 'home' country to host?

But then its not like there's a queue to host them. In the immediate post Olympic buzz enthusisim is always high but eventually we see reality within a year.

Also the really cool sports are thin on the ground at the CWGs.

I would love to see Rowing/Canoeing/Slalom in along with sailing. Handball would also fit in nicely.

Handball!? I don't think so. Rowing/Canoeing would be nice to see England/Australia/Canada battle it out.

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Canada?...Rowing?...Didn't notice them in London. Prehaps NZ or Scotland.

Two silvers in the marquee rowing events :lol:

Oops forgot New Zealand. :P

(I completely left them out for some odd reason).

That is 4 nations that can battle it out. You can add South Africa, Scotland, Wales and any other nation and we have a competitive event.

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The only problem is the cost (rowing) but a full program of oar and paddles and using Leigh Valley again would attract massive crowds. There's no shame in using some of England's facilities.

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The only problem is the cost (rowing) but a full program of oar and paddles and using Leigh Valley again would attract massive crowds. There's no shame in using some of England's facilities.

I don't think cost is a huge issue. $15-20 million for a temporary facility is not bad. + Rowing is not going to be held in some countries. Only the ones that have a tradition or can win medals in it.

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