<p>Questions Without Notice from the Party Leaders</p>

Part of 1. 1. Questions to the First Minister – in the Senedd at 1:45 pm on 13 September 2016.

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Photo of Carwyn Jones Carwyn Jones Labour 1:45, 13 September 2016

Well, the cost involved is some £1.5 billion. At this moment in time, that is a cost that would mean that there would be no money to support major events for the next decade in Wales, pretty much. The Scots were able to host the games at a cheaper price because they didn’t have to build as much as we would have to build. We’d have to build a new athletics stadium, build a new velodrome, build a new pool or extend the pool that we actually have at the moment. So, the capital costs are actually huge, which is why, of course, it makes it very difficult for the Commonwealth Games to go to smaller countries these days. What we wanted was to put in an all-Wales bid—that wasn’t looked at favourably—or indeed to launch a joint bid with cities in England. But, again, that’s not possible under the current rules that operate with Commonwealth Games bids. What I’d prefer to see in the future is to explore ways in which we could bid with other Commonwealth countries in order to host the games.