The South African city of Durban and the Canadian city of Edmonton are the only two cities in contention for the 2022 edition of the Games after a series of cancelled bids.
The president of the South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (SASCOC) Gideon Sam presented the bid alongside chief executive Tubby Reddy, the head of sport for the City of Durban Vuzi Mazibuko and South Africa’s minister of sport Fikile Mbalula.
The Durban presentation highlighted the city’s previous hosting successes including the football, rugby and cricket world cups and emphasised Durban’s current sporting facilities, its tourist attractions and the city’s infrastructure capabilities.
A video was screened alongside the presentation and referenced the late Nelson Mandela and his beliefs about the power of sport. It ended by saying: “It’s Africa’s turn to host its sons and daughters for the first time on home soil… in the city where Nelson Mandela chose to cast his first vote. Let Durban be the first African city to host the Commonwealth Games,”
Minister Mbalula vowed his support for the bid and guaranteed the country’s commitment to the Games and called upon the federation to award Africa its first ever Commonwealth Games. “We guarantee the government will play its part in hosting the most successful sporting events in South Africa,” said Mbalula. “The Commonwealth Games to us are important Games in terms of what we seek to achieve collectively over the years. It’s our turn as the African continent.”
Meanwhile, Edmonton’s bid was introduced by Commonwealth Games Canada president Andrew Pipe before chairman of the 2022 bid, Reg Milley, made the presentation. Milley focused his address around learning from the upcoming Games in Glasgow. “We’re in Glasgow to listen. We’re here to learn,” said Milley.
Durban’s bid presentation has already been highly praised by sections of the South African media but the final vote will not be cast until September 2015 when the Commonwealth Games Federation meets in Auckland, New Zealand.
CEO of Glasgow 2014 and incoming CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, David Grevemberg will be speaking at the HOST CITY: BID TO WIN conference. To find out more, register for HOST CITY: BID TO WIN on 28th October.
