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Ahmedabad, India
Amdavad, India (also known as Ahmedabad) has today been formally ratified as the host of the Centenary Commonwealth Games in 2030, marking a historic moment for the Commonwealth Sport Movement.
The decision confirms that the world’s most populous nation will stage the landmark edition of the Games, after delegates of the 74 Commonwealth member nations and territories ratified India’s bid overnight at the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow.
India presented a compelling vision for the 2030 Games, centred in the Gujarat city of Amdavad (Ahmedabad), which will build on foundations laid by Glasgow 2026, enabling India to celebrate the centenary in style.
New Zealand Olympic Committee (NZOC) CEO, Nicki Nicol is in Glasgow for the General Assembly and welcomed the news.
“We know Amdavad will do an amazing games. I think this is an important step for the Commonwealth Games - really scaling back up to a larger number of sports, which is great for all of our athletes and sports,” she said.
“We certainly know that India will have a lot of the core sports that we know and love across the Commonwealth Games, but there will also be some sports that are special to our Indian hosts and we look forward to seeing that come to life.”
Nicol also noted the NZOC’s desire to host the 2034 Commonwealth Games.
“Our Expression of Interest is still with Commonwealth Sport and we will know in the next year what the process is to turn that into a formal feasibility. We’ve really appreciated the support we’ve had from the sector and from government for this Expression of Interest and we would love to host the Commonwealth Games here in New Zealand in 2034,” she said.
Moments after Amdavad was announced as hosts of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, 20 Garba dancers and 30 Indian dhol drummers burst into the General Assembly Hall, surprising delegates with a rich cultural performance that provided a taste of the heritage and pride that Athletes and fans can expect from a Games hosted in the Indian state of Gujarat.
Dr Donald Rukare, President of Commonwealth Sport said: "This is the start of a new golden era for Commonwealth Sport. After a 'Games reset' we head to Glasgow 2026 in fantastic shape to welcome the 74 teams of the Commonwealth before setting our sights on Amdavad 2030 for a special Centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games.
“India brings scale, youth, ambition, rich culture, enormous sporting passion and relevance, and I'm delighted to report strong interest from a range of nations to host the 2034 Games and beyond. We start our next century for the Commonwealth Games in good health."
The first Commonwealth Games were held in 1930 in Hamilton, Canada. Australia topped the medal table at the most recent Games, staged in Birmingham, England, in 2022, with the rest of the top five made up of England, Canada, India and New Zealand.
The Sports Programme
In addition to confirming the hosts for 2030, Commonwealth Sport also confirmed that 15 – 17 sports will feature at Amdavad 2030.
The Amdavad 2030 team will work closely with Commonwealth Sport and the International Federation community to shape a dynamic and exciting sport programme with strong local resonance and global appeal.
This will follow Commonwealth Sport’s recently concluded Sport Programme Review which outlines the sports which will feature at the Commonwealth Games: Athletics and Para Athletics, Swimming and Para Swimming, Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis, Bowls and Para Bowls, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Artistic Gymnastics, Netball and Boxing.
The process to finalise the remainder of the programme will start next month, and the full Centenary Games line-up will be announced next year.
The sports under consideration are: Archery, Badminton, 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, Beach Volleyball, Cricket T20, Cycling, Diving, Hockey, Judo, Rhythmic Gymnastics, Rugby Sevens, Shooting, Squash, Triathlon and Para Triathlon and Wrestling.
The host can also propose up to two new or traditional sports.
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