Ahmedabad Will Host the 2030 Centenary Commonwealth Games, After Delegates From 74 Member Nations and Territories Ratified India's Bid in Glasgow on 26 November 2025

Ahmedabad, spelled Amdavad in Commonwealth Sport’s own releases, was formally ratified on 26 November 2025 as host of the 2030 Centenary Commonwealth Games. Delegates from 74 Commonwealth member nations and territories approved the bid at the Commonwealth Sport General Assembly in Glasgow, and Commonwealth Sport’s Amdavad 2030 page says the approval was unanimous. Reuters reported that the Games are scheduled for October 2030, a month picked to suit the weather.

It will be India’s second Commonwealth Games, after Delhi in 2010, and the centenary edition: the first Games were held in Hamilton, Canada, in 1930. Commonwealth Sport president Donald Rukare said on the day: “This is the start of a new golden era for Commonwealth Sport.”

From a Cabinet decision to a vote in Glasgow

The Union Cabinet approved the bid on 27 August 2025. According to the release carried by All India Radio’s news service, it also approved signing the Host Collaboration Agreement, with guarantees from the ministries and authorities concerned, and a grant-in-aid to the Gujarat government if the bid was accepted. The release described Ahmedabad as an ideal host with world-class stadiums and noted that its Narendra Modi Stadium hosted the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup final.

A delegation led by Gujarat’s Harsh Sanghavi and Indian Olympic Association president PT Usha presented the bid to Commonwealth Sport’s Evaluation Committee in London, Onmanorama reported on 24 September 2025. The Gujarat government said the proposal was aligned with Commonwealth Sport’s “Games Reset” principles, which Onmanorama listed as affordability, inclusivity, flexibility and sustainability.

Reuters reported that five nations had originally shown interest. Two formal proposals reached the committee, from India and from Nigeria, whose bid was for Abuja. Canada was expected to compete but did not bid. The committee judged the bids on delivery capability, athlete experience, infrastructure, governance and fit with Commonwealth values, All India Radio reported.

On 15 October 2025 the Commonwealth Sport Executive Board said it would recommend Ahmedabad to the membership. Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya called it “a huge moment for Indian sports” in a post on X, quoted by The Tribune. The board also said it would work on a strategy to support Nigeria’s hosting plans, including a possible bid for 2034. The Assembly vote followed on 26 November. World Athletics president Sebastian Coe said India’s ambitions made it “the right host at the right time.”

Eight sports confirmed, seven to nine more to come

Commonwealth Sport says 15 to 17 sports will be played in Ahmedabad, up from the 10 planned for Glasgow 2026, Reuters reported. Eight are confirmed after its Sport Programme Review: athletics, swimming, table tennis, bowls, weightlifting, artistic gymnastics, netball and boxing, with Para versions of the first five.

Fifteen more sports are under consideration: archery, badminton, 3x3 basketball, beach volleyball, T20 cricket, cycling, diving, hockey, judo, rhythmic gymnastics, rugby sevens, shooting, squash, triathlon and wrestling. The host can also propose up to two new or traditional sports. For readers following India’s results, the list includes the sports behind India’s Olympic hockey bronze medals and the cricket that India’s women took to a first World Cup title.

The Amdavad 2030 page, read on 10 October 2026, still shows the same eight confirmed sports and the same list under consideration. In November 2025 Commonwealth Sport said the full line-up would be announced in 2026.

What Ahmedabad is building

The venue most often named is the Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave beside the Sabarmati river, built around the Narendra Modi Stadium. A BDP-led consortium with Cox Architecture and Collage Design unveiled its 350-acre masterplan on 23 February 2026, according to Building Design. It lists the stadium at 132,000 seats, an aquatics centre of 12,000 seats for swimming and diving, a tennis centre with a 10,000-seat centre court, an 18,000-seat indoor arena for gymnastics and basketball, and a National Institute of Sports Excellence for training. Building Design reports that the stadium will host the opening and closing ceremonies.

Gujarat sports official Ashwani Kumar told AFP in November 2025 that existing venues could host events “with some modifications” and that new arenas were due by “late 2028 or early 2029”. Commonwealth Sport’s event page does not yet list venues, so the sport-by-sport allocation is not official.

What the Sports Ministry has said

After the Cabinet decision, Mandaviya wrote that it “demonstrates that we are fully prepared to host international competitions,” according to The Tribune. On the day of the award he said India had hosted 22 major international sports events in 18 cities over the past decade, and that the win showed how capable India was of hosting large world events. He also said India aims to become a top-10 sporting nation within 10 years and a top-five nation by 2047, and that the Games “will boost our chances to host the 2036 Olympic Games.” India will also host the World Police and Fire Games in Ahmedabad in 2029, The Tribune reported.

At the Commonwealth Sports Ministers Meeting in Glasgow on 22 July 2026, Mandaviya reaffirmed India’s readiness and Ahmedabad’s preparations, IANS reported, and said he had told Rukare there was excitement in the Commonwealth community for the centenary edition.

The flag reaches Ahmedabad

Glasgow 2026 closed on 2 August 2026. At the ceremony Rukare handed the Games flag to Olympic gold medallist Neeraj Chopra, Usha and Sanghavi, now Gujarat’s Deputy Chief Minister, The Federal reported. India finished fourth on the medal table with 39 medals: 13 gold, 17 silver and nine bronze.

Sanghavi said on 5 August, after returning to Ahmedabad, that the state government would intensify preparations for the centenary Games and that the Centre and the state were coordinating closely, IANS reported.

What is still to be announced

Three items remain open in the sources read for this article. None of the sources read gives exact dates beyond Reuters’ report of October 2030, and Commonwealth Sport has not published a venue list. The sports line-up is incomplete. No total budget has been published: the Cabinet release carried no figures, and Kumar told AFP a budget had been worked out without giving numbers. He added: “We don’t want to overcommit on anything.”

The Cabinet release anticipated athletes from 72 countries, while Commonwealth Sport lists the number of countries and athletes for 2030 as to be confirmed.