Coe sees future for CWG | The Express Tribune
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SYDNEY: World Athletics president Sebastian Coe says the Commonwealth Games is a strong enough brand to survive its latest crisis, but it must innovate to do so. The multi-sport event suffered a major setback last month when the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 edition, citing escalating costs. It left the Commonwealth Games Federation searching for a viable replacement at short notice amid an apparent lack of interest in a spectacle seen as losing relevance. The last Games in 2022 were held in Birmingham, but only after the English city stepped in to replace Durban in South Africa, which was stripped of hosting rights after a series of missed deadlines and financial problems. Victoria was the exclusive bidder for 2026. Despite this, Coe said he saw a future for an event which typically attracts more than 4,000 athletes from the 54 nations of the Commonwealth, almost all of them former territories of the British Empire. "The Commonw