Nicki Nicol: NZ Olympic Committee CEO on Glasgow hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games

Scotland's come to the rescue and offered to host a scaled-down version of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The event has been adrift after the Victorian Government pulled out of hosting, citing spiralling costs that blew the budget out to $6.6 billion.

NZ Olympic Committee CEO Nicki Nicol says cutting down the Commonwealth Games will be a big change - but this is unprecedented territory. 

"On the back of that very disappointing decision from our friends across the ditch - we have had to pivot. I have huge gratitude and support for what Scotland have done."

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
So the Commonwealth Games. It looks more likely that Glasgow
will actually host this in a couple of years time
they've officially submissive submitted their proposal. The games will be
small though, only ten sports, only four venues, a budget
opening and closing ceremony, and no athletic village. Nicki Nickel
is the NZIOC chief executive.

Speaker 2 (00:16):
Hey Nikki, Hey, how are you? Heather?

Speaker 1 (00:18):
Very well? Thank you. Do we know which sports have
made it through?

Speaker 2 (00:22):
No, we don't at this stage. All we do know
is that swimming and athletics are in because that's been
part of the Commonwealth Games blueprint, and we are waiting
like the other sports. What we do know is that
there are a number of venues that have been named
and those of the venues will be utilizing a number of.

Speaker 1 (00:38):
Sports, so they can tell from the venues, like as
one of the venues a cycling venue.

Speaker 2 (00:45):
So we're just waiting like everyone else, and I think
for us it's just we haven't speculated because we just
don't want to put more anxiety out for the athletes.
But we're waiting and we'll work with the sports as
soon as we know to work on Plan A or
Plan B.

Speaker 1 (00:57):
I mean, the thing about it is, right, cutting from
twenty one sports last time to ten this time is
quite a drastic reduction. Ah, there's going to be quite
a few athletes who are disappointed.

Speaker 2 (01:08):
So if we look at Glasgow in twenty fourteen, they
had eighteen sports. We know Victoria we're looking to have
more sports. So the games have been around that eighteen
to twenty for quite some time. So yeah, cutting to
ten is a big change. But I think, you know,
we have to recognize the unprecedented time that we're in
with Victoria pulling out and so on the back of
that very disappointing decision from our friends across the ditch,

(01:31):
we have had to pivot. And you know, I mean
I have huge gratitude and support for what Scotland have done,
and you know they have said, well, look, if we
can work within a financial envelope that has no drain
on their community, they can deliver something really special and
I think they will do that, but again, just won't
be at the same scale that we used to.

Speaker 1 (01:48):
Do. You think this is the last Games?

Speaker 2 (01:51):
No, I do not think this is the last Games.
And I think for many reasons, and certainly for the
community that I live in Commonwealth Games is a really
important event and having just been to Paris as well,
and we're still in the glow of the success of Paris.
Many of the athletes there, sixty percent of the athletes
that competed in Birmingham made the top eight at the Olympics.

(02:13):
So from our perspective, from a high performance perspective, it's
really important. What we need to do is make it sustainable.
And actually that is one of the benefits of the
work that Scotland have done as they've taken out costs,
they've optimized the delivery model for the Games and hopefully
that will make the next games twenty thirty and twenty
thirty four much more sustainable. Therefore we'll have, you know,

(02:34):
be back to the good old commonwork games in world.

Speaker 1 (02:37):
Who's hosting twenty thirty not.

Speaker 2 (02:40):
Confirmed, So I think we still consideration have been have
been focused.

Speaker 1 (02:44):
Are we still going for twenty thirty four?

Speaker 2 (02:46):
We have still an expression of it just around twenty
thirty four, and certainly what we have learned through this process,
and I've spent a little bit of time with our
friends from Scotland and I'm going over there again later
this year is to actually understand their whole new economic
model that sits behind it, because that again will make
it much more attractive for us to be able to
consider what a feasibility and that could look like.

Speaker 1 (03:08):
Niki, thanks for talking to us through it. Nicky Nicole
in zoc's chief executive nineteen Away from six.

Speaker 2 (03:13):
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