Commonwealth Games: Scotland chairman says country could host again in alternative format

Scotland could host the Commonwealth Games again - but the format would have to change, says the country's Games chair, Paul Bush.

Birmingham stepped in to host this summer when Durban was unable to do so and the Australian state of Victoria will host the next edition in 2026, having been the only bidder.

Bush believes Scotland could stage the Games again but that a one-city set up is no longer feasible.

"You would never say never," he said.

"This event, in terms of its size and scale, will change. Victoria in 2026 - based around the State of Victoria - will change the model there, building on what Birmingham have done.

"There's no athletes' village here [Birmingham] - we have five and venues are more geographically spread out.

"That's a real positive in terms getting more events into communities and using facilities we don't have to spend lots of money on."

Only the Sandwell Aquatics Centre, which hosted swimming and diving in Birmingham, was built from scratch for the Games.

And, with a dearth of nations queueing up to host the event beyond 2026, Bush - also the events director at Visit Scotland - believes organisers will have to be creative if the event is to survive.

"These Games have demonstrated that if the Commonwealth Games is going to be relevant and sustainable in the future, you've got to think about dissipating that footprint," he said.

"Why not have it in the Caribbean across five or six islands? That would be pretty special. Or across four or five cities in Canada?

"Bringing the event back to Scotland? There's probably some time to go yet because 2014 is not that far away."

Scotland hosted both the men's and women's Open Championships in golf this year - and next summer will stage the biggest world cycling championships ever.

Thirteen events will be staged from 3-13 August under one banner for the first time and Bush says it again shows the country's ability to attract major sporting competitions.

"This is the next stepping stone for Scotland in terms a of a major international sporting event," he said of the UCI Cycling World Championships.

"We pride ourselves as Scotland, the perfect stage. The Open a couple of weeks ago was fantastic and we had the AIG Open at Muirfield - and it builds towards next year.

"Mountain biking tourism is now bigger than golf tourism for Scotland. So we've got a great opportunity and it's down to everybody in Scotland to seize that opportunity and project it for the future."