Battle Lines Drawn in Commonwealth Tale of Two Cities

The starting gun was fired today in the battle between two contrasting cities for the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. The rival cities of Glasgow and Abuja, in Nigeria, both officially lodged their bid documents with the Commonwealth Games Federation in a colourful ceremony in central London.

Since the spectacular success of the Commonwealth Games in Manchester and in Melbourne last year, the right to host the games has become a coveted price in Commonwealth countries. In the chandeliered splendour of one of the main reception rooms at the Langham Hotel both cities gave short 20-minute presentations - and a brief taste of their local culture.

First the room reverberated to the beat of drums and an exuberant display from a group of Atlogu dancers, as Abuja sought to become the first city from the Africa to stage the Commonwealth Games. And then the regimental band of the Scots Guards, complete with pipes and drums, gave an ear-bashing demonstration of Scottish culture, complete with traditional highland dancing.

The bid books were handed over to Michael Fennell, president of the Commonwealth Games Federation, with both cities expressing confidence in their chances. The outcome will be decided by the organisation's general assembly in Sri Lanka in November. The contest became a two-horse race in March when the Canadian city of Halifax dropped out amid fears over the budget for the Games.

Glasgow says its bid will cost £288m - but says it will not face the problems of the organisers of the London 2012 Olympics where the need to build venues from scratch has led to a construction budget of £9.3bn. Seventy per cent of Glasgow's venues are already built.

Abuja, a city of 1.6 million people, already has 80% of its venues, including a 60,000-capacity national stadium. Habu Gumel, president of the Nigerian Olympic Committee, who handed over Abuja's bid, said he was confident of victory - the city has pledged to pay all the travelling expenses of the competing nations and each Commonwealth Games Association would receive a grant for training and development of athletes of US $125,000.

Derek Casey, Glasgow 2014's bid director, said Glasgow was also offering full travel expenses and a pot of £3.7m to be shared among competing countries for equipment, coaching and training. "Our bid is both about presentation and substance - an exciting event based on sound principles and sound venues," he said.