Cities have until April 28 to declare whether they want to bid for the 2022 Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images

Cities interested in bidding for the 2022 Commonwealth Games will have to express their interest by April 28.

Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) chief executive David Grevemberg revealed to insidethegames at the SportAccord Convention here today that a process for picking a replacement for Durban has been now established.

The South African city, awarded the Games in September 2015, was stripped of the event last month because they were unable to provide the necessary financial guarantees.  

The CGF have written to all 70 countries and territories eligible to compete in the Commonwealth Games inviting them to bid.

A review team is being set up by the CGF to study the credentials of cities that submit formal expressions of interest. 

Several cities have come forward since Durban lost the Games to say they may be prepared to step in.

This includes Birmingham, Liverpool, London and Manchester in England. 

Adelaide, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney in Australia have also claimed they may be interested.

Other candidates could include Toronto in Canada, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia and Singapore.

Crucially, Commonwealth Games Associations will be able to put forward more than one city for consideration, meaning Australia or England will not have to select a single candidate.

Bids must, however, be accompanied by some form of Government support.

Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games and may be interested in staging them again in 2022 ©Getty Images
Melbourne hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games and may be interested in staging them again in 2022 ©Getty Images

The review team, expected to be made up of CGF officials and international experts, will examine the merits of each bid.

They will then recommend a preferred candidate to the CGF Executive Board.

The whole process is expected to be completed by mid-summer. 

"We have been purposefully agile to accommodate the process," Grevemberg told insidethegames.

"We want to make a decision as quickly as possible."

Most people have been surprised at how many cities are interested in replacing Durban.

"We are just happy there's been keen interest and that people can see value in hosting this event," said Grevemberg.

"We want to see what the potential is and get the right host.

"We are trying to limits the costs [of bidding].

"We don't want people doing massive feasibility studies and using resources they don't need too.

"It's an opportunity but we need to handle it carefully."