New Delhi: Glasgow, the second richest city (GDP-wise) of Scotland and also their manufacturing hub, may have just redefined shoestring budget for connoisseurs of sports. The host city of the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in 2026 has recently released a revised list of games and venues that have made it to this edition of the mega-event and it has only taken the essence of the Games a notch lower. Many notches lower, actually. Earlier, the Games were criticised as reeking of a colonial hangover, but now it’s considered being downright cheap! Not budget-friendly, but cheap.
First, there were no takers for the Games with Australia playing the classic penny-pinching role and trying to pass it off as an austerity driven measure. When Scotland came forward with their proposal, one thought the frugalities were spared. But that was not to be. The new laundry list of 10 disciplines that will make it to the Glasgow edition of CWG in 2026 excludes essential sports like hockey, badminton, wrestling, cricket, and shooting. What’s more, even table tennis, squash, and triathlon didn’t make the cut as the entire event will take place across just four venues. Talk about being budget-conscious!
India has had reservations about the Games since 2018, always blaming the overt colonial hangover as the prime driver of this dissent but now we have more reason to distance ourselves from this excuse of a mega-gaming event. But how have we reached here, that too when it concerns one of the more popular Gaming extravaganzas that the world has been witness to?
What started the CWG indifference?
The growing indifference to the purpose of the event, that was originally founded as the ‘Empire Games’ in 1930, is not dated. It has always been lingering, especially since other global sporting events like the Olympics have taken centerstage. It is another matter that even the Olympics has faced struggle with less bids for the 2024 Summer Games with with Paris and Los Angeles winning the bid for hosting the 2024 and 2028 event respectively. Brisbane won the bidding for 2032.
Some say it was the 2010 CWG edition which brought into focus the huge costs involved in hosting the Games in such a grand avatar and the fact that the costs shouldn’t be calculated in isolation but must also take into account their social value, environmental impact and governance costs as three separate heads. Whether the host nation made any profit economically by hosting such a gigantic event will depend solely on all of these factors.
How does the CWG perform on these metrics? They fail miserably, if reports are to go by. There are many reasons why this could be the cause.
- For one, the costs of the original model are considered too high which meant that host countries could barely break even
- The popularity of the CW Games is diminishing ever since other global events entered the sporting arena making it a lost exercise with both fun and fans.
- The Commonwealth countries desperately trying to shrug off the ‘colonial’ tag are undecided whether they should continue with this legacy Games or distance themselves from it.
While cost of hosting a gala event is something that countries need to cater to, it is the ‘mindset issue’ that lurks which makes the Games a confused melee and not a sporting event as is said to be. India’s position on the CWG has also been hanging in balance with players and coaches on both side of the fence.
India and the Games; to be or not to be
There is a section of the public that considers the CWG to be nothing but an outdated symbol of colonialism. It’s true that some view the Games as a vestige of British colonialism, which in turn raises pertinent questions about the relevance of India’s participation in such an event that connects (merely as a symbol) to former colonies with the United Kingdom. At a time when India is emerging as a power broker in the Global South, our association with the Commonwealth may feel like a reminder of India’s colonial past, conflicting with our present-day identity as an independent and rising global power.
