At least three nations including Canada, Nigeria and India have said they met the March 31 deadline to express interest in hosting the 2030 Commonwealth Games.
Commonwealth Sport (formerly Commonwealth Games Federation) however told GamesBids.com that it is not yet ready to release a final list of interested parties that filed ahead of the due date.
“Commonwealth Sport Canada, with the backing of the federal government, four provincial governments and the Indigenous community, submitted an EOI to engage Commonwealth Sport in the co-creation and collaboration phase of the 2030 Commonwealth Games bid process,” Commonwealth Sport Canada (CSC) CEO Brian MacPherson told GamesBids.com in an email Tuesday.
The EOI (tap to view) dated March 31 outlines that the governments of Manitoba, Newfoundland & Labrador, Ontario, and Prince Edward Island – along with the Ontario Regional Chief for the Chiefs in Ontario – have thrown in their support for the project and letters signed by senior government officials were attached.
Dubbed a United Canada 2030 bid, the project could be spread across multiple provinces in an effort to share the cost burden.
Hamilton in Ontario had previously been given an exclusive window to host the 2026 edition but failed to get support from the provincial government that was already focused on hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup in capital Toronto. Hamilton’s initial interest was to host the 2030 centenary edition of the event, then known as the British Empire Games that launched in the same city. If Canada succeeds it could still mark the 100th anniversary where it all began.
Canada has hosted five times, most recently in Victoria, British Columbia in 1994. Victoria also expressed interest in hosting in 2026 but later stepped back due to costs. Edmonton bowed out of the 2022 race after a drop in international oil prices put the Games beyond financial reach.
Last month Indian Olympic Association (IOA) president P.T Usha told Reuters “We have sent an expression of interest and we are hopeful the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) will consider our proposal.”
The Indian bid is part of an overall plan to bring major sports events to the world’s most populous nation. India is vying for the 2036 Olympic Games, possibly in Ahmedabad, and has opened a dialogue to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2030.
India has hosted the Commonwealth Games once in 2010 in Delhi with an edition that was mired by construction delays and corruption charges.
The Nigerian Olympic Committee formally submitted an EOI on March 28 and on Monday spokesperson Tony Nezianya confirmed in a statement that a bid by capital Abuja would “provide a compelling narrative for the nation’s progress and readiness.”
Abuja hosted the African Games in 2003 but failed in a bid to host its first Commonwealth Games in 2014 when Glasgow, Scotland defeated the Nigerian capital 47-24. The 2030 bid has yet to win the required support of the national government.
All bids will model their projects under Commonwealth Sport’s new template that allows flexibility in the included sports, locations of venues and many other factors that can help keeps costs low. Glasgow will pioneer this new concept in July 2026 after it negotiated a deal with Commonwealth Sport to host the Games on short notice and without other bids in the running.
Bids are expected to develop their projects in coordination with Commonwealth Sport and will submit any hosting proposals by August 31, 2025.
The Games will be awarded to a host nation with a membership vote at the 2025 General Assembly in November
Troubles for Commonwealth Sport began after Edmonton dropped out of the running to host in 2022 leaving only risky Durban, South Africa for an unopposed election. The Durban contract had to be canceled after the city missed financial deadlines and the race reopened leading to the election of Birmingham, England instead. That took Birmingham away from its original target – 2026 – and Commonwealth Sport had to scramble to fill that edition.
Hamilton passed on its exclusive window and later Victoria in Australia signed a deal for 2026. But when local government officials claimed costs had skyrocketed, the contract was torn up and Commonwealth Sport was left scrambling to find a replacement or risk canceling the Games. Glasgow, enticed by a financial incentive funded by a breach-of-contract penalty paid by Australia, and using legacy from 2014, struck a last-minute deal to host a lighter version of the 2026 event staging only 10 sports.
