A Canadian bidder for the 2022 Commonwealth Games could be chosen by a public vote in a precedent-setting, Canadian Idol-type television special.
Commonwealth Games Association of Canada CEO Brian MacPherson revealed the strategy Thursday at the Canadian Sport Tourism Alliance’s Sport Events Congress in Richmond.
MacPherson said the online or phone poll idea was conceived as “an engagement strategy to engage the public with our brand.”
National bid cities for major multisport events have traditionally been chosen behind closed doors by the organization’s members.
MacPherson said Canada has a chance to host the Games in 2022 for the first time since Victoria 1994 because it is the Americas’ turn. Delhi hosted in 2010, Glasgow had the Games in 2014 and Australia’s Gold Coast in 2018.
The only other viable candidate could be South Africa, which hosted the 2010 FIFA World Cup and nearly launched a bid for the 2020 Summer Olympics.
Before expressions of interest are solicited from municipalities, MacPherson said the federal cabinet must approve provisional funding for the Games. That could come in June or September, he said.
“Politically we’re getting good vibes, and also with a policy point of view,” MacPherson said. “Politics are politics, you never know for sure until it happens.”
Should the funding commitment be announced, the expressions of interests would be whittled down to a shortlist of three municipalities in the second half of 2013. February 2014 is the Commonwealth Games Federation’s deadline for applications. The 2022 host will be decided in 2015.
“We’re only going to put forth cities we’ve evaluated,” MacPherson said, “and we know can execute the Games successfully.”
So far, 1978 host Edmonton is the only city to go public with a desire to bid for 2022. Edmonton was forced to drop its bid for Expo 2017 when federal government support was withdrawn.
“The Games are pretty much a billion-dollar opportunity and that excludes capital expenditures,” MacPherson said.
The first British Empire Games were in Hamilton in 1930. Vancouver hosted in 1954. Canada’s next big multisport event is the 2015 Pan American Games in Toronto. The previous Games in Delhi were marred by late construction and corruption. Organizers Suresh Kalmadi and Lalit Bhanot were jailed after the Games.
“They came off,” MacPherson said. “It looked good on TV. It was close to a disaster, and it took a lot of work behind the scenes to even pull it off.”
