Speaking during a session at the annual Hay Festival, which brings together writers from around the world to debate and share stories in the town of Hay-on-Wye, Carwyn Jones said he would like to see Wales host the event but said the country would have to start investing in sport now to be able to finance it.

The comments come after Welsh Labour politician Mike Hedges raised the idea of Swansea making a bid during a speech at the National Assembly for Wales, citing the city’s hosting of the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) Athletics European Championships and events at the Wales National Pool as reasons to believe it has the necessary qualities to stage the Games.

But as reported by the South Wales Evening Post, Jones claims the British Government would not offer financial support for a Welsh bid.

The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council provided the public funding for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games between them.

“We would have to invest now in sport,” he said.

“Cities are not bidding for the Commonwealth Games.

“In principle, yes, I would like to have them in Wales, but the cost is too prohibitive.

“The Scots paid for their own Commonwealth Games, the response in Whitehall [a metonym for the British Government] is it’s your Games you have to pay for it.”

Earlier this year, a first wave of residents moved into homes in what was the Athletes' Village during Glasgow 2014.

Since the Games, it has undergone renovation work as a major part of the legacy and of wider development in Scotland's second city.

“The cost is huge - we are talking billions to bring in the Commonwealth Games,” added Jones.

“Look at what Glasgow has done and you’re looking at a redevelopment project.

“You can use the Commonwealth Games to regenerate somewhere urban.

“You’d have to build an athletics stadium and who uses it afterwards?”

Hedges, a Swansea East Assembly Member, insisted that if Wales was backed by a Barnett formula, the mechanism used by the Treasury in the United Kingdom to automatically adjust the amounts of public expenditure allocated to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, it would give a city like Swansea almost £500 million ($770 million/€707 million) to host the Commonwealth Games.

This would amount to 5.4 per cent of the estimated £9 billion ($13.9 billion/€12.7 billion) it cost to fund the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Cardiff, hosts of the 1958 Games, are still exploring the possibility of making a bid having officially revealed their intentions to do so in February 2013.

"The Commonwealth Games are awarded to cities, not countries, and Swansea can evidence its experience of hosting big events,” Hedges told the South Wales Evening Post.

“If the event comes to Wales, it should not automatically be assumed that such events will be held in Cardiff.”

During his speech, Hedges estimated the costs of the 2002 Games in Manchester at around £300 million ($462 million/€424 million) and last year’s event in Glasgow at £400 million ($616 million/€566 million).

He also spoke of the significance of Swansea City Football Club’s Premier League football status in enhancing a bid. 

"It is held every other week in Swansea and seen around the world," he said.

"It showcases Wales every week."

A feasibility study is currently being undertaken by the Welsh Government into the possibility of a 2026 bid from the country with sites across the country, including Cardiff, all being considered.

“We are continuing with work to assess both the benefits and costs to Wales of hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2026,” a Government spokesman told Wales Online.

“A final decision is not due until later this year and we are working to take full account of the costs and benefits of the Glasgow Games.”

A spokesman for Sport Wales added: “We would fully support a bid for Wales to host the Commonwealth Games, for the benefits it would bring to the entire country.

“It would give our elite athletes the chance to compete on home soil and inspire a generation of young people."


Related stories
March 2013: Exclusive: Cardiff will not alter plans to bid for 2026 Commonwealth Games because of London, they claim
February 2013: Cardiff begin preparations to launch bid for 2026 Commonwealth Games