Birmingham and Liverpool "went head to head for the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Monday after Durban was all but stripped of the event," according to Ben Rumsby of the London TELEGRAPH. Birmingham City Council joined Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson in writing to the government to inform it of "the city's intention to step in if the Games were left without a host." BCC Deputy Leader Ian Ward said, "Here in Birmingham, we are already in the advanced stages of producing a detailed feasibility study on what would be needed for a truly memorable Games in the city." Liverpool confirmed its "interest in stepping in" last month, "effectively forcing Birmingham to follow suit amid the unlikelihood of the Commonwealth Games Federation staging back-to-back Games less than 100 miles apart." Durban's "failure to set up an organising committee, sign the host city contract, confirm governance arrangements or secure sufficient guarantees to underwrite the event was the final straw" for the Commonwealth Games Federation (TELEGRAPH, 3/13). The AAP reported CGF EVP Kereyn Smith, also the head of the New Zealand Olympic Committee, said that the federation "would invite cities considered willing and capable of holding the Games to step in." Smith: "I think the time frame is a matter of months, certainly not longer than that. The president [of the CGF], Louise Martin, is working with cities that have the ability and the facilities and they can quickly get the money together to make a commitment to do that." Canadian media said that Durban's withdrawal "might revive interest in Edmonton," which pulled out of the '22 bid in '15, "leaving the South African city the sole bidder" (AAP, 3/14).
NO INTEREST: In Auckland, Chris Rattue reported the government "ruled out any prospect of New Zealand rescuing the 2022 Commonwealth Games." Minister for Sport Jonathan Coleman said that there was "no interest in approaching" the CGF after it announced South Africa had been dropped as the host. Coleman: "We have no intention of taking over the 2022 Commonwealth Games. There is a lot of infrastructure that needs to be built across the country and this ranks well down our list of priorities" (NEW ZEALAND HERALD, 3/14). REUTERS' Baldwin & Ransom reported the 2018 Games will be held on Australia's Gold Coast. Smith "held out the possibility of the Gold Coast holding back-to-back Games," but city officials "poured cold water on the idea." Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate said, "Council will not consider hosting the 2022 Games as we will be working tirelessly on our legacy outcomes from the 2018 Games experience" (REUTERS, 3/14).
DURBAN DISAPPOINTMENT: REUTERS' Nick Said reported South Africa's government "expressed disappointment at the decision to strip Durban of the right to host" the 2022 CWG, saying that "the budget it had guaranteed for the event was sufficient." South Africa Sports Minister Fikile Mbalula said that the financial demands of the CGF were "excessive," and that, in a "tough economic climate," the country would not leave itself exposed to an "open-ended guarantee" on the event's budget. Mbalula said that the government approved a budget of 4.32B rand ($328.3M), "which it believed was ample, using the country’s hosting of the All Africa Games 18 years ago as a yardstick" (REUTERS, 3/14).
