2026 Commonwealth Games

The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games will be held in 2026, where all 71 member territories from the Commonwealth of Nations are expected to compete.

Possible bids

Europe

• Birmingham, England

Birmingham is planning to bid for the 2026 games. City MPs, sports stars including Olympic medallists Mark Lewis-Francis and Katharine Merry, and former Prime Minister David Cameron have expressed support for the Birmingham bid. The Alexander Stadium, Villa Park, Edgbaston and the Barclaycard Arena will be the bidding venues.^[1][2]

• Liverpool, England

Liverpool is considering making a bid, but only if funding is available from the UK Government.^[3] Mayor Joe Anderson argued that Liverpool could use the Games as ‘a catalyst for regeneration’ across the city region if successful.^[4] Anderson has also suggested that a proposed new Everton stadium could play a key part in a Commonwealth Games bid.^[5]

• London, England

In 2015, London Labour Mayoral hopeful Gareth Thomas began attempting to co-ordinate support for a possible bid.^[6] In August 2016, Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan received a proposal to host the 2026 games in South London. London previously hosted the 2012 Summer Olympics as well as the 1908 and the 1948 editions and will host the semi-finals and final of the UEFA Euro 2020 in Wembley Stadium.

North America

• Edmonton, Canada

Edmonton is Canada's fifth-largest city and the second-largest city in as well as the capital of the Province of Alberta. It is home to a number of professional sports associations (most notably the Edmonton Eskimos (Canadian) football team and Edmonton Oilers ice hockey team, winners of five Stanley Cups). The 1978 Commonwealth Games, the 1983 Summer Universiade and the 2001 World Championships in Athletics were all held in Edmonton, and the city has also hosted some matches of the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup, the 2007 FIFA U-20 World Cup, the 2014 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup and the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup.^[7][8] There are plans to build a new velodrome to replace the aging Argyll Velodrome. The aging Northlands Coliseum was replaced as the city's main indoor venue by the new Rogers Place in 2016, although the older arena remains open. On February 11, 2015, Edmonton announced it was withdrawing its bid to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, citing financial reasons and a global fall in oil prices. The bid team will instead focus on the 2026 event.^[9]

Oceania

• Auckland, New Zealand

The events arm of Auckland Council has raised the possibility of a bid to host the Commonwealth Games, possibly as early as 2026. Key figures have backed the idea, saying New Zealand needs to take its turn at hosting the Games, which were last held in this country in 1990 in Auckland.^[10]

• Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea, is considering bidding for the 2026 Commonwealth Games after hosting the 2015 Pacific Games.^[11] The city is set to host the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup.^[12]

Cancelled potential bids

• Cardiff, Wales

Cardiff was previously interested in bidding for the 2022 games, with some events to be held in Newport and Swansea, however Cardiff City Council announced they are instead in discussions for a bid for the 2026 games.^[13][14][15] On 26 July 2016 it was announced that Cardiff will not look to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 or for the foreseeable future, media reports stated this was due to the uncertain situation regarding Brexit and funding concerns.

References