Bids for the Commonwealth Games

Bids for the Commonwealth Games is the process where Commonwealth Games Associations select from within their national territory cities to put forward bids to host a Commonwealth Games. Since the creation of the Commonwealth Games Federation in 1932, which successfully appropriated the name of the Inter-Empire Championships to create a modern sporting event for the members of the Commonwealth, interested cities have rivalled for selection as host of the Commonwealth Games.

What follows is a list of the cities that have bid to host any of the Commonwealth Games. 20 cities (including repeats) have been chosen to host the Commonwealth Games; four in America, two in Asia, six in Europe, one in the Caribbean and seven in Oceania. No African city has ever been chosen to host a Commonwealth Games.

Process

The General Assembly of the CGF is responsible for deciding who will host the Commonwealth Games, 8 years prior to the games in question once all bids have been submitted. The selection process is made in accordance with the Candidate City Manual, as drafted by the Executive Board and made available to candidates 18 months before a decision is made. The federation then entrusts the organisation of the games to the organising committee, CGA, and government of the winning host nation or territory, including the security and finance, but is still monitored by the federation.^[1]

Commonwealth Games

Games	Year	Bid party		Result	Final selection process		Note	Ref.
		City	CGAs		Date	CGF General Assembly
I	1930	Hamilton	Canada	Awarded to host the I Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[2]
II	1934	Johannesburg	South Africa	Awarded to host the II Commonwealth Games (moved to London)			[note 1]	[3]
		London	England	Inherently awarded to host the II Commonwealth Games
III	1938	Sydney	Australia	Awarded to host the III Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[4]
–	1942	Montreal	Canada	Awarded to host the IV Commonwealth Games (cancelled)			[note 2]
–	1946	Cardiff	Wales	Awarded to host the IV Commonwealth Games (cancelled)			[note 3]
IV	1950	Auckland	New Zealand	Awarded to host the IV Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[5]
V	1954	Vancouver	Canada	Awarded to host the V Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[6]
VI	1958	Cardiff	Wales	Awarded to host the VI Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[7]
VII	1962	Perth	Australia	Awarded to host the VII Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[8]
VIII	1966	Kingston	Jamaica	Awarded to host the VIII Commonwealth Games (17 votes)		Rome		[9]
		Edinburgh	Scotland	Eliminated in the first voting (12 votes)
		Salisbury	Rhodesia and Nyasaland	Eliminated in the first voting (5 votes)
IX	1970	Edinburgh	Scotland	Awarded to host the IX Commonwealth Games (18 votes)		Kingston		[10]
		Christchurch	New Zealand	Eliminated in the first voting (11 votes)
X	1974	Christchurch	New Zealand	Awarded to host the X Commonwealth Games (36 votes)		Edinburgh		[11]
		Melbourne	Australia	Eliminated in the first voting (2 votes)
XI	1978	Edmonton	Canada	Awarded to host the XI Commonwealth Games (36 votes)		Munich		[12]
		Leeds	England	Eliminated in the first voting (10 votes)
XII	1982	Brisbane	Australia	Awarded to host the XII Commonwealth Games (unanimous vote)	14 July 1976	Montreal		[13]
		Birmingham	England	Withdrew during the candidature stage
		Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Withdrew during the candidature stage
		Lagos	Nigeria	Withdrew during the candidature stage
XIII	1986	Edinburgh	Scotland	Awarded to host the XIII Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[14]
XIV	1990	Auckland	New Zealand	Awarded to host the XIV Commonwealth Games (20 votes)		Los Angeles		[15]
		Delhi	India	Eliminated in the first voting (19 votes)
XV	1994	Victoria	Canada	Awarded to host the XV Commonwealth Games (29 votes)		Seoul		[16]
		Cardiff	Wales	Eliminated in the first voting (18 votes)
		Delhi	India	Eliminated in the first voting (7 votes)
XVI	1998	Kuala Lumpur	Malaysia	Awarded to host the XVI Commonwealth Games (40 votes)		Barcelona		[17]
		Adelaide	Australia	Eliminated in the first voting (25 votes)
XVII	2002	Manchester	England	Awarded to host the XVII Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[18]
XVIII	2006	Melbourne	Australia	Awarded to host the XVIII Commonwealth Games (sole bid)				[19]
XIX	2010	Delhi	India	Awarded to host the XIX Commonwealth Games (46 votes)	14 November 2003	Montego Bay		[20][21]
		Hamilton	Canada	Eliminated in the first voting (22 votes)
XX	2014	Glasgow	Scotland	Awarded to host the XX Commonwealth Games (47 votes)	9 November 2007	Colombo		[22][23]
		Abuja	Nigeria	Eliminated in the first voting (24 votes)
		Halifax	Canada	Withdrew during the candidature stage
XXI	2018	Gold Coast	Australia	Awarded to host the XXI Commonwealth Games (43 votes)	11 November 2011	Basseterre		[24][25]
		Hambantota	Sri Lanka	Eliminated in the first voting (27 votes)
XXII	2022	Durban	South Africa	Awarded to host the XXII Commonwealth Games and later withdrew	2 September 2015	Auckland		[26][27]
		Edmonton	Canada	Withdrew during the candidature stage
		Birmingham	England	Awarded to host the XXII Commonwealth Games (sole bid)	21 December 2017	Birmingham		[28][29]
XXIII	2026	Victoria	Australia	Awarded to host the XXIII Commonwealth Games and later withdrew	12 April 2022	Ballarat		[30][31]
		Glasgow	Scotland	Awarded to host the XXIII Commonwealth Games after Victoria withdrew

Notes

1. The 1934 British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) was originally awarded to Johannesburg, South Africa but was later awarded to London, England. The reason for this change was to avoid a political crisis over South Africa's Apartheid policy and its implications on visiting Commonwealth athletes and officials. The move came after concerns, particularly from Canada, about the way South Africa would treat black and Asian athletes."1934 - London". Inside the Games. Archived from the original on 2016-08-05. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
2. The 1942 British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) was cancelled due to the Second World War. "What are the Commonwealth Games and who takes part?". BBC. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2020-01-29.
3. The 1946 British Empire Games (now known as the Commonwealth Games) was cancelled due to the Second World War. "What are the Commonwealth Games and who takes part?". BBC. Archived from the original on 2014-03-09. Retrieved 2020-01-29.