Commonwealth games

Looks like it is now the end of the line.

As much as I enjoyed it when it was in Manchester, increasing costs and increasing irrelevance of the Commonwealth as a group of countries, I don’t see where it goes from here.

Personally I didn’t watch any of the Birmingham games, and I like watching sports, so I don’t see it as an attraction for sponsors anymore. It is basically down to a national government to use it a platform for regeneration in an area, and I don’t think most major sporting events over the past decade or two have shown good value for money on that front.

why does it cost so much to put some athletics events on? Whilst I don’t see it being free, can’t you put it in an existing athletics stadium and sell tickets? Man U doesn’t lose a $500mm every time they play a game

I agree it seems an increasingly difficult fit into the global sporting calendar.

The Birmingham games have been described as extremely positive for the city, in terms of infrastructure and legacy. My impression was that they were extremely realistic in terms of new building and where the events were held.

Victoria proposed a multi-city approach which seemed ambitious initially, then spiralled out of control.

@5lab

This is the list of events for Birmingham, with the number of events in each discipline noted in the brackets:

Aquatics  Diving (12)
Swimming (52)
Athletics (58)
Badminton (6)
3×3 basketball (4)
Beach volleyball (2)
Boxing (16)
Cricket (1)
Cycling Mountain biking (2)
Road cycling (4)
Track cycling (20)
Gymnastics:  Artistic gymnastics (14)
Rhythmic gymnastics (6)
Field hockey (2)
Judo (14)
Lawn bowls (11)
Netball (1)
Para powerlifting (4)
Rugby sevens (2)
Squash (5)
Table tennis (11)
Triathlon (5)
Weightlifting (16)
Wrestling (12)

As a family we attended paid events (Gymnastics, Badminton), went to watch the road race in Warwick, then just went to Brum City Centre for the atmosphere on the last day. It was great (weather helped as it was sunny mostly) and my kids were really inspired by the sport they watched, and on TV.

I understand it could be a massive waste of money if it’s not run the right way, and the concept of the Commonwealth is a bit dodgy, but would be a shame if it stopped. Feels much more realistic for families with kids to go to rather than the Olympics, even just by it being held in the UK more often

We went to the last two Games (Gold Coast and Brum) – it would be a massive shame for this to be the end of the road but I fully understand why, especially given some of the top athletes don’t attend now – it just doesn’t have the draw that it used to do.

I think it would be a shame if it ended but it needs to be affordable. It’s a great stepping stone for younger athletes and for the likes of my son who is unlikely to be able to represent GB due to strength in depth it was great to watch him represent Scotland. I know it’s “only” the Commonwealth Games but it was a nice reward for 12 years of hard work and dedication.

I only watch hockey and cycling (sometimes). The rest pointless.

Isn’t the value of a ‘games’ the big ticket sports dragging attention (and TV viewers) onto the lesser spotts that would never be seen otherwise?

Love stumbling across some weird event when pissed and getting quite into it.

Agree that it is becoming more irrelevant despite people enjoying watching it.

Will be v interesting to see what does or does not develop now.

The “Commonwealth” asppect became gairly irrelevant severalGames ago.

We went to Glasgow and Birmingham for various events – nice to see top athletes and plucky losers competing, bit like para sports events.

It would be a shame if the games were lost, but they have to be commercially viable. Very few Commonwealth bations can afford to host them, and that is always the problem

Maybe Brum could just host it every 4 years instead of it travelling the Commonwealth generating debt and doubt? A standing invitation for the Commonwealth to meet every 4 years in the middle of Britain.

The area would get a boost every 4 years and a bit of that money could be put towards keeping the existing venues up to scratch. Things like the road and mountain bike events could travel away from the region to spread the love around the country.

I only watch hockey and cycling (sometimes). The rest pointless.

But the point is that the others aren’t pointless (other than from your point of view). I couldn’t give a fig about hockey, whereas we went to the netball (which I love) and the athletics at Brum and just the athletics at GC. Each to their own and all that.

Seems a shame for all those guys in the uk that are just a little short of getting to the Olympics but still good enough to represent their home nation. I imagine being part of any event like that is amazing

From a non competitor perspective however I struggle to see the appeal, don’t even bother watching the events I have a vague interest in

Can’t say I can argue with Victoria, in fact good on them to actually have the balls to say No now and not let budget creep force them into wasting billions of dollars on it.  They stood in at the 11th hour (in terms of things like this) and had a budget of $1bnAUS (about £500m), this doubled almost immediately, but with estimated benefits of $3.5bn it made sense. Once the budget jumped to $7bn it was crazy to continue.

Perhaps this will be a wake up call, not only to the Commonweath Assoc, but the World Cup and Olympics, it’s not the draw it was, if they carry on insisting on multi-billion dollar budgets, huge stadiums and villages built cities struggle to find a use for later etc.

Concept of ‘the commonwealth’ games does seem irrelevant now but the loss of any opportunity to promote watching or participating in sport is a real shame.

We went to a variety of things in Birmingham that we wouldn’t normally bother to pay to watch  eg boxing, rugby 7s, beach volleyball (well I watch that on TV but not the wife ;) , track and field etc.

It was great to be part of the event and get out and about as a family (weather obviously helped a lot!). We missed out on Olympic tickets so was also good to have stuff more accessible.

Will be a shame if it goes completely but can understand cost risk for some countries.

(although in contrast I remember asking my young (at the time) daughter if the Olympics being in London had inspired her…quick as a flash she said yes…it had inspired her to watch more telly!!!)

It’s a pity for the many athletes who don’t get a chance to compete for their home nation, but only under the UK banner.
However are the commonwealth games really justifiable now both in terms of expense and with all the flying, is their impact on the climate justifiable

To be quite honest it would be good to stop this cycle of vanity projects masquerading as events with their ridiculous need to create whole new towns and stadia. Very often they are used to sluice public money into private coffers.

Look at how Zuma in South Africa funnelled cash to his cronies and his backers. The final was held in a mere provincial capital with a huge purpose-built stadium.

I’d loved to have been able to get on the IOC gravy train.

Britain’s most recent “foreign policy” initiative appears to be preventing desperate people, on sinking boats, from being treated humanly.

We are largely, wilfully and deliberately deluded about our relevance and almost completely “tone deaf” to how we are considered by others. Why would members of the Commonwealth wish to “shore up” and validate our Brexit Fantasy Island?

“He saw with painful clarity an ambitious man born to the big canvas, brought up to rule, divide and conquer, whose visions and vanities all were fixed, like Percy’s, upon the world’s game; for whom the reality was a poor island with scarcely a voice that would carry across the water.”

John Le Carré

John Le Carré

The former intelligence officer, brilliant writer, urbane, sophisticated, worldly yet still quintessentially English literary giant? The one who relinquished his British citizenship as a result of Brexit?

I.e. an intelligent person, who I admire greatly, who saw what a clusterwank Brexit was and who ‘we’ lost as a result.

FFS.

The right decision by Victoria. The “legacy” arguments are complete toss, both from a participation and economic perspective. There is no reason why the public sector should be chucking so much money at frothy bollocks like the Olympics, World Cup and Commonwealth Games.
https://www.insidethegames.biz/articles/1132268/london-2012-legacy-uk-government

I had to the opportunity to work (i.e. actually get paid) to work on the Commonwealth Games in Brum.  While the monetary value of what the games bring will always be challenged, the games were a success.  Brum was buzzing, tickets were hard to get, people were engaged.  For the athletes, especially from the small countries, this may be their only opportunity to compete at a large global event.

We can always spend the money for games ‘better’.  The shame is that we don’t.  And for many places we have very short time horizons.  Look at the radical changes in Stratford triggered by the London 2012 Olympics.  They have taken many years to achieve

Victoria had chosen a very distributed delivery model, spreading the events across and entire state, which was always going to drive up the costs.  Brum cost just over a £1 Bn to deliver, yet Victoria is quoting something close to three times that.  Even taking inflation into account, something does not balance up.  Especially since the rules were changed to allow hosts to choose which sports were invited (expect for athletics and swimming).

We always see the Commonwealth through the prism of Empire.  It is strange then hat countries can easily leave the Commonwealth, no one is forcing them to stay.  Yet, more countries are joining, including some who were not part of the British Empire.  Perhaps our view is very skewed.

On the other hand each sport wants to have its annual World Champs and perhaps the day of the multi-event games has gone, as we move to an increasing fractured view of sport.  A shame, since it means the minority sports (which in the UK means anything that is not Football) have to fight to get a share of publicity that keep them going.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cx25ly59l28t

looks like Glasgow is hosting 2026 after Victoria pulled the plug. reduced number of sports though. Hope MTB makes it through.

Has there been any mention of athlete accommodation? It’s the one thing I’ve not seen mentioned, and can’t think how they’d do it so quickly

From: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/czj978gnmgpo

Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) has said the event will feature 10 sports, but they haven’t confirmed what these will be.

Athletics and swimming will definitely feature, as these were made compulsory sports by the Commonwealth Games Federation in 2021.

Organisers can choose from a list of 22 other core sports such as cycling and boxing.

and

CGS said their proposal would comprise venues within an eight-mile-radius.

This rules out Glasgow 2014 venues Strathclyde Country Park in Motherwell which hosted the triathlon, the diving venue of the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh and the Barry Buddon shooting centre in Dundee.

Sounds like there’ll be no diving (which I quite enjoyed watching at the recent Olympics). For MTBing, is Cathkin Braes within that 8-mile radius they’re talking about?

Yeah cathkin would be in the radius assuming they’re talking about the official city boundary

Has there been any mention of athlete accommodation? It’s the one thing I’ve not seen mentioned, and can’t think how they’d do it so quickly

Plan is to use empty student accommodation. We have a lot of that in Glasgow in the summer

Plan is to use empty student accommodation. We have a lot of that in Glasgow in the summer

it doesn’t sit empty all summer though?  And I don’t think the actual date has been fixed yet?  Some suggestions that July and Aug were difficult because of other major fixtures…