T&T interested in Commonwealth Games bid

Trinidad and Tobago’s Prime Minister Patrick Manning has expressed an interest in the country staging the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

T&T is one of three countries so far – the others Australia and Nigeria — showing an interest in bidding for the games in nine years. The Australian city of Melbourne staged the 2006 Commonwealth Games and Nigeria’s Abuja lost out to Glasgow (Scotland) for the 2014 Games.

India will host the 19th edition of the Commonwealth Games next year.

Suresh Kalmadi, chairman of the Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, made the disclosure about T&T’s interest on Saturday, during a press conference at the International Financial Centre, Port-of-Spain.

Manning’s intentions were made at a Sports Breakfast meeting, in which Kalmadi and dignitaries representing the Commonwealth nations attended at the Hyatt Regency Hotel.

“In his (Manning’s) speech, he said he would like to be the host of the Commonwealth Games 2018,” Kalmadi said.

“He made a bid right there in front of all of us,” added Kalmadi.

Manning’s bid came on the heels of T&T’s hosting of the Fifth Summit of the Americas in April and just before the closure of the 21st Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) here this past weekend.

Kalmadi said countries need strong financial backing to successfully bid for the Commonwealth Games.

Asked if T&T would be able to prepare for an event of this magnitude, Kalmadi said, “It depends on your government. If they are ready to come forward or not”.

The 2010 games, which will be held in Delhi India next October, has already cost India’s government US$2 billion.

T&T Olympic Committee (TTOC) general secretary Brian Lewis said that in 2008 they had given some thought to staging the Commonwealth Games.

“Our intention was to engage discussion with Sport Minister Gary Hunt and the government following the Caribbean Games.”

T&T cancelled staging the Caribbean Games earlier this year as a result of the H1N1 virus and scuppered the TTOC’s projections for the bigger assignment.

“The background of a successful Caribbean Games would have given T&T a good argument to be the (Commonwealth) host. If the Prime Minister is of the view it is something he would like to explore, I would think the T&TOC would like to have some discussion with him,” Lewis said.