From worrying beginnings - when original hosts Durban were stripped of the Games in March 2017 after a series of missed deadlines - the 2022 edition of the quadrennial event has been an undeniable success.

Venues have been packed, the buzz in the city has been real - and all this on the smell of an oily rag and a curtailed lead-in.

Only one major venue - the new aquatics centre - was purpose-built for the Games. Other venues were either given minor upgrades or were erected as temporary infrastructure.

There were some logistical issues, the lack of an athlete's village meaning athletes were housed in satellite accommodation sites around the city.

But Birmingham has proved the cut-price Games can work.

"It is definitely not something that we want people to spend huge amounts of money and capital investment on if it is not needed and desired in the long term plans for a country," CGF CEO Kate Sadleir said.

"(It's about) not making people feel that they need to build and spend a lot of money on big facilities, unless it is something from a legacy perspective where there was a gap in their facility provision that was aligned to their sport policy."

And Sadleir says the 2022 Games has sparked interest from potential bidders - though she refused to mention any countries by name.

That's in stark contrast to recent times.

Gold Coast was awarded the 2018 Games when it beat off sole rivals Hambantota of Sri Lanka.

Durban was the only bidder for the 2022 Games after initial interest from Edmonton in Canada, while Victoria was awarded the 2026 Games following a period of exclusive dialogue between relevant parties.

The 2026 edition will be the first predominantly regional Games, with multiple cities including Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland to host events.

The CGF hopes to have hosts for 2030 and 2034 in place by the end of next year.

"Not everyone can pull off what Birmingham has done and Victoria's about to do in a very short lead time," Sadleir said.

"Because we've opened up the hosting model to be quite flexible and innovative, for some it will take longer than a three-and-a-half-year, four-year window to pull something off.

"There's been three to four (potential hosts) that have talked to me during these Games ... whether they're all for 2030 or a little bit longer, we're really excited about that."

The CGF said ticket sales had exceeded expectations with over 1.5 million sold, and while final numbers are not in yet, it is believed most major venues reached 90 per cent capacity for the Games.

Australian Associated Press