Paris: The future of the Commonwealth Games has been thrown into doubt again after Malaysia last week refused to host the 2026 edition, but former Olympic marketing guru Michael Payne said it would be “a mistake to write the event off just yet”.
Malaysia’s decision came despite an offer of £100 million ($126 million) sweetener from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) towards the cost of hosting the event.
Organizers are trying to fill the vacuum left by last year’s withdrawal from the Australian state of Victoria, which was announced as the 2022 host.
Financial support is available to any potential host.
The CGF hopes that the Games’ perceived strength of inclusivity and integration, with para-sports blending seamlessly with able-bodied events, will secure a host just two years from the multi-sport event.
Katie Sadleir, CEO of CGF, acknowledges that time is running out, but says intensive efforts are underway.
“The process to determine the host of the 2026 Games is proceeding apace with the interested Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs),” she told AFP.
“While we are very aware of the incredibly tight timeframe, we have supported proposals that will restore the Games.
“At the same time as this process, we accelerated the work of updating and reframing the games.
“This involved exploring innovative new concepts and opportunities for events.”
Payne, who over almost two decades at the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has been instrumental in overhauling the organisation’s brand and finances through sponsorship, told AFP that in an increasingly competitive world the Commonwealth Games had to answer one burning question.
“The challenge is relevance – balancing history with evolution and maintaining some form of relevance,” said the 66-year-old Irishman.
“With the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, everything has become much more difficult.
Terrence Burns, who has played a key role in five successful campaigns for Olympic bid cities since leaving his role as IOC marketing manager, told AFP his “first thought is that (the CGF) have a branding problem.”
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“That means two things in my world: first, a lack of differentiation from competing products, and second, a lack or declining relevance to the core target audience.
“Without one of these core brand principles, no product or service has much hope of success or longevity.”
Burns said the Commonwealth Games faced a huge challenge to retain its core audience and attract new ones.
“The events, sports and entertainment space is many times more competitive for consumer attention than it was 10 years ago,” he said.
“The novelty of seeing all these peoples come together in one place at one time has been dulled by the Internet and the ability of technology to literally carry the world — and all of human history in the world — in one’s pocket.
“Now we tend to yawn in amazement, which makes me cry.
Burns believes the Games “in their current format and form will continue to languish”, but points out that the IOC has made significant reforms as a result of an intensive consultation process following the 1996 Atlanta Olympics.
Payne says the main takeaways from this were “the need to start managing the brand and after the problems in Atlanta – more control over the organizing committee.”
In the case of Burns, progress can only be made if the powers that be at the CGF accept the answers from their ongoing consultations, no matter how unpleasant the answers may be.
“They need to understand the good, the bad and the ugly so they have a place to start,” he said.
“So, does it have a future? Let’s start by saying it has a vivid and glorious past – but that past only exists in a market segment forever limited by its name – the Commonwealth Games.”
“By definition, it’s not for anyone else.”
But for Payne, the Commonwealth Games is a bit like a boxer who, no matter what pounding he takes, always defies expectations and comes back from the ropes.
“For more than half a century, as I recall, people have been asking whether the Commonwealth Games were finished,” he said.
“Each time they’ve come back and put on successful editions, (like) 2022 Birmingham and 2006 Melbourne.”
