Liverpool Commonwealth bid: Can the city stage the 2026 games?

This summer the Mayor of Liverpool Joe Anderson and Liverpool City Council confirmed the city is planning a bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

Although the competition is still more than a decade away, the council thinks an official proposal could be ready in as little as 13 months to be in with a shout of holding what it calls the ‘most inclusive Commonwealth Games ever’.

Your Move investigates how ready Liverpool is to stage the games and the wider benefits the event could have whilst taking a look at the city’s possible competition.

Words by Lawrence Saunders

More than 300,000 extra visitors a year, £600 million of investment, 20,000 new jobs… this is the legacy of Manchester’s 2002 Commonwealth Games. With figures like these it’s not difficult to see why Mayor Joe Anderson and Liverpool City Council are taken with the idea of hosting the 2026 edition.

Alongside these headline statistics, when it comes to assessing the impact of the games on our near neighbour’s fortunes, the sports-led regeneration of East Manchester – once one of England’s most underprivileged areas – is hard to ignore.

Following Manchester’s successful bid for the games in 1995 the construction of the City of Manchester Stadium, now Manchester City FC’s Etihad Stadium, an athletics stadium and a tennis centre – all in the east of the city – kickstarted the significant regeneration of the area.

Development continues to this day with Manchester City FC working alongside Manchester City Council on a number of major projects including the new £18m Manchester Institute of Health and Performance, to be built next to the sprawling Etihad complex.

> Read more: Sports stars to back Liverpool’s Commonwealth bid

Announcing Liverpool’s intention to explore a bid for the 2026 games, Mayor Anderson said he believed hosting an event of this scale would be an “incredibly important catalyst for regeneration and investment” right here too.

Citing the example of Manchester in his letter to culture secretary John Whittingdale, Mayor Anderson stated that the games could deliver a “boost” for deprived parts of North Liverpool.

At a recent city council meeting, a cross-party motion welcomed the commitment from the Mayor, suggesting such a bid would “inspire and encourage people to get involved in sport as well as delivering a legacy of regeneration for the city and city region”.

The motion added that a successful bid for the games would give Liverpool the chance to replicate Team GB’s Rio Olympic success on a local level.

Preparatory work on Liverpool’s bid is underway in anticipation of the Commonwealth Games Federation releasing details in the autumn of what’s expected from the cities interested in bidding.

 

 

Is Liverpool ready to host?

Funding aside, hosting a major sporting event like the Commonwealth Games would require a network of venues including an athletics stadium, velodrome and swimming pool.

Glasgow, host city in 2014, already had 70% of its sports stadia in place ahead of the games – boasting three stadiums with capacities exceeding 40,000 (Celtic Park, Ibrox and Hampden Park), alongside The SEE Hydro arena and various other satellite venues.

Anfield Stadium is currently the only arena within Liverpool’s boundaries which comes close – holding just over 54,000 spectators thanks to the recently upgraded Main Stand.

Outline planning permission is also in place to extend the Anfield Road stand in the future, feasibly boosting the famous old ground’s capacity to almost 59,000.

Across Stanley Park, Mayor Anderson has suggested a new and much needed Everton FC stadium could form part of the bid with the club and the council currently in discussions over two potential sites – one being the current Sound City festival site, Bramley-Moore Dock.

The mayor and the council remain tight-lipped with regards to which venues could form part of Liverpool’s bid, so discussion of the following sites is simply speculation at this stage.

The revamped Anfield will later this year play host to the Rugby League World Cup Final before the Netball World Championships take place at Echo Arena Liverpool in 2019, showcasing the city’s ability to accommodate two sports which will more than likely feature at the 2026 games.

A £90,000 investment from Sport England to refurbish the courts at Liverpool Tennis Centre alongside a £650,000 joint investment from Sport England and England Athletics to revamp track facilities at Wavertree Athletics Centre will no doubt further enhance Liverpool’s chances of lodging a successful bid.

As for cycling events, perhaps the £1.4m Knowsley Leisure and Culture Park in Huyton, which features a 400m velodrome built to national competition standards, could be utilised.

Away from sport, Mayor Anderson has cited Liverpool’s track record of delivering “high profile, large scale” events including last year’s visit by the Three Queens and 2014’s Giant Spectacular, which brought a combined audience of 2.2m onto the city’s streets.

This year Liverpool has again proved its ability to organise and deliver a major global event with the International Festival for Business (IFB) taking place over three weeks in June and welcoming more than 30,000 delegates from 100 countries.

> Read more: Your Move talks to Merseyside’s Rio Olympic hopefuls

Checking out the competition

Birmingham

High profile politicians and sporting stars from Britain’s second city have given their backing to a possible ‘Brum’ bid with former Prime Minister David Cameron urging city leaders to “think big” as they consider lodging their interest as hosts.

In terms of current venues, the city is mob-handed with a new 50-metre swimming pool at the University of Birmingham; Villa Park football stadium which can hold over 42,000 spectators and The Alexander Stadium – recently the subject of a £12.5m redevelopment programme which included the addition of a 5,000 seater stand.

London

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan has received a proposal to bid for the 2026 games centered on South London. As part of the plans, Crystal Palace National Sports Centre would undergo a substantial refurbishment.

The capital has not staged the Commonwealth Games since 1934, when it was still known as the Empire Games, and it’s hoped the event could unlock the untapped potential of the area south of the River Thames.

Edmonton, Canada

Financial issues led to the withdrawal of Edmonton’s bid for the 2022 games, but Canada’s fifth largest city hasn’t given up on hosting the event just yet and is thought to be planning to return with a renewed bid for 2026.

Host city in 1978, Edmonton has an impressive list of venues including a number which were opened for the games almost 40 years ago, chief amongst them being the Commonwealth Stadium – Canada’s biggest stadium, with a capacity of over 50,000.

Auckland, New Zealand

Details on a possible bid from New Zealand’s largest city are scarce, however if the ‘City of Sails’ did decide to join the race for 2026 it’s already well stocked when it comes to venues.

The destination is home to a considerable number of rugby union, cricket and rugby league arenas including the country’s biggest stadium Eden Park, which can hold up 60,000 spectators.

Port Mosley, Papa New Guinea

At first glance the capital of Papa New Guinea may seem like an unusual candidate to host the games but Port Mosley is in fact a rapidly expanding city well versed in holding major sporting events.

The city’s intention to bid for the 2026 games was revealed during the closing ceremony of the Pacific Games in 2015, and later this year it will welcome 17 teams for the 2016 FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.