(ATR) The Commonwealth Games Federation is not ruling out awarding the 2022 Games to Australia – despite Gold Coast hosting 2018 and significant interest from U.K. cities.
Speaking exclusively to Around the Rings, Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive David Grevemberg revealed that more than nine cities had expressed formal interest after Durban was stripped of 2022 Games hosting rights last month.
Failed bid promises and financial problems killed off the South African city’s ambitions, reigniting the race for the Games. Fresh interest has come from Birmingham, Liverpool, London and Manchester. Also mulling bids are Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney along with Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
Grevemberg refused to rule out taking the Games to Australia for a second time after Gold Coast.
"There are no cards that are off the table right now. But I do think we have to look at what is in the best interests of the movement… what are our real options, and we just need to go through that process right now," he told ATR.
"I don’t want to be too speculative on any particular cities or a particular decision. I think we have enough agility. The notion of extraordinary circumstances requires an extraordinary process," he said.
"We will continue to be vigilant and in sticking to our principles. We are looking at what is going to add best value.
"We are cautiously optimistic and confident but not complacent. We don’t take the expressions of interest for granted at all."
The CGF has set an April 28 deadline for formal submissions of interest in staging the 2022 Games. Grevemberg expects the field of nine candidates to reduce in number.
"We don’t want cities to waste money through a laborious bid process. What we want to do is be very streamlined in this approach, direct where we can and leverage as much value for the new prospective hosts and federations as possible," he said.
With Gold Coast preparing for the 2018 edition, Grevemberg was asked if it was in the best interests of the CGF to spread the Games around the 70 Commonwealth nations.
He spoke of "real disappointment" regarding the Durban decision.
"This was a new horizon, this was something the movement was so committed to, the African continent, and developing the Commonwealth sports movement within the continent," he said.
"We are still committed. It is so important for us to continue to have a diverse offering. Some of that will take time, some of that will require us to reposition ourselves and bolster the federation in terms of our new strategy and direction. This just accelerates the need for that."
Grevemberg refused to put a timeline on the CGF decision to assign the 2022 Games host.
He said it depended on how many candidates came forward and the "viability" of their bids.
While he wants to have this "wrapped up within this calendar year", he also said "we are looking to make this decision as swiftly as possible". His comments suggest a decision will be taken in the summer or early autumn at the latest.
All bids will be subject to a rigorous evaluation and feasibility process. The CGF will work with national Commonwealth Games associations and governments. The CGF’s executive board is mandated to make the final decision.
After the South African government’s failure to deliver financial guarantees supporting the Durban bid, Grevemberg emphasized the importance of national governments underwriting any Commonwealth Games bid.
Reported by Mark Bisson
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