Amdavad confirmed as Commonwealth Games 2030 host

The announcement of Amdavad as the 2030 host was greeted by Garba dancers and dhol drummers in Glasgow

The Indian city of Amdavad has vowed to "lay the foundation for the next 100 years" after being confirmed as the host for the centenary edition of the Commonwealth Games in 2030 amid a riot of colour and noise in Glasgow.

The city in the west of the world's most populous country was ratified as the host on Wednesday, having been proposed by governing body Commonwealth Sport's evaluation committee last month in preference to Abuja in Nigeria.

In doing so, it was revealed that 15-17 sports will feature at the second Games to be held in India - up on the 10 scheduled for next summer's reimagined event in Glasgow, but fewer than the 19 in Birmingham in 2022.

Athletics, swimming, table tennis, bowls, weightlifting - plus their Para-sport equivalents - will be joined by artistic gymnastics, netball and boxing, with the process to finalise the remainder of the programme starting in December.

Under consideration are archery, badminton, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, T20 cricket, cycling, diving, hockey,  judo, rhythmic gymnastics, rugby sevens, shooting, squash, triathlon and wrestling.

Amdavad can also propose up to two new or traditional sports for the event, which they are planning to host in October of 2030 to take weather considerations into account.

What will Amdavad look like?

Moments after Amdavad - officially known as Ahmedabad and located in the state of Gujarat - was unanimously voted as the host city at central Glasgow hotel, 20 Garba dancers and 30 Indian dhol drummers burst into the hall.

That followed an in-depth presentation from the Indian delegation, during which they outlined their ambitious proposals for the second Games to be held in India after Delhi in 2010.

The bid is part of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to make India a developed nation by 2047, to coincide with the centenary of the country's independence.

With that in mind, Amdavad is viewing the Commonwealth Games as a staging post on a journey that they hope will include the 2036 Olympics and Paralympics and made play of their facilities and infrastructure - much of which is already in place.

Among those is the Narendra Modi Stadium - the largest in the world, with a capacity of 132,000 - which hosted the Cricket World Cup final in 2023 and will be the venue for the opening and closing ceremonies.

President of the Commonwealth Games Association of India, Dr PT Usha, told delegates that India would deliver a "strong, inclusive, future-ready Commonwealth Games" that "advances the future" of the event.

She said, would offer a Games strong on sustainability, technological innovation and athlete experience, and would be a "transformative edition remembered as a launchpad for the Commonwealth in the next century".

The presentation team also revealed that all facilities would be in a 30-45 minute radius and that free transport would be provided for all ticket holders.

How did we get here?

It had been feared that the Games in Glasgow next summer might be the last-ever, Scotland's largest city having stepped in late last year after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew for financial reasons.

That came after Birmingham took on the 2022 event after the South African city of Durban pulled out.

However, a reimagined format - with fewer sports, athletes and venues - has lessened the cost and enticed India, Nigeria and a handful of other countries to make their pitch to welcome the 74 Commonwealth Sport nations and territories.

Ultimately, Amdavad emerged as the victor and has vowed to restore some of the sports that will miss out next summer and enhance the work of Glasgow in making the Games more future-fit.

Dr Donald Rukare, president of Commonwealth Sport, said it marks "the start of a new golden era".

He added: "After a 'Games reset' we head to Glasgow 2026 in fantastic shape before setting our sights on Amdavad 2030 for a special Centenary edition.

"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."