The Commonwealth Games 2026 may be cancelled after Victoria dropped out as host, claiming that it was unwilling to spend up to A$7 billion on “a 12-day sporting event,” placing the multi-sport competition’s future, held every four years, in jeopardy.
Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Tuesday, “What’s become clear is that the cost of hosting these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted. It is, in fact, at least $6 billion and could be as high as $7 billion.
“I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions, in this job. This is not one of them,” he said in his shock move. “Frankly, 6 to $7 billion for a 12-day sporting event. We are not doing that. That does not represent value for money. That is all cost and no benefit.”
He added: “I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost [that] was estimated and budgeted for last year. In terms of where we go from here, the games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026.”
The Commonwealth Games Federation, whom Andrews said he had already informed, labelled the announcement as “hugely disappointing”.
“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the Government,” the statement said.
After organisers failed to locate a suitable venue owing to a lack of interest and Covid-19 interruptions, Victoria was announced as the 2026 host city last March. The decision to cancel the event appears to have stunned the committees in charge of planning it; they claim they were not given any advance notice of potential cost overruns and were not given any chance to develop backup plans.
READ: Victoria Confirmed as Host fo 2026 Commonwealth Games
The Games were scheduled to take place in regional Victoria from 17 – 29 March of that year, bringing much-needed investment and international exposure to places outside of the state capital Melbourne.
According to the Victoria 2026 website, “Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton will be on the world stage, attracting millions of viewers and creating thousands of jobs.”
In a move to promote local tourism and events, Andrews said Victoria would instead develop at least 1,300 affordable dwellings in addition to the long-term sporting facilities it had pledged.
The costs of Victoria pulling out of its commitment are still yet to be determined.
The state treasury acknowledged the risks to Victoria’s economic outlook were higher than usual in the state budget for 2023–2024, which was presented in May.
The state’s net debt is expected to increase from around $135.4 billion in 2024 to $171.4 billion by 2026–2027, adding to the state’s mounting financial load. According to these predictions, Victoria’s net debt as a percentage of the state’s economy would reach close to 24% by the time the games were to take place in 2026. Additionally, Victoria will hold elections this year.
Long stretches of lockdown during the COVID outbreak, which required enormous public investment, are partly to blame for Victoria’s debt. The Commonwealth Games might be seen as a victim of extended COVID in several ways.
The Victorian government confirmed its willingness and financial capacity to host the games by signing a contract. Additionally, the federation had a fair expectation that the games would be supplied in accordance with the contract. It is highly unlikely that this issue will go to trial; instead, it will almost definitely be resolved by paying the federation damages for breach of contract.
Who could step in as the 2026 Commonwealth Games host?
After South Africa was stripped of its rights to host the Games in 2022, Birmingham, England, stepped in to save the Games. The next games were originally expected to take place in the British city, and the CGF was left with very few options as a result of the change. Following the withdrawal of many other cities from the bidding process due to financial concerns, Victoria had become the sole viable option. The Mayor of London has since said he would support a bid for the capital to host the 2026 Games.
READ: Birmingham on track to stage world class event
Sadiq Khan’s spokesperson said: “London as a sporting capital stands ready to support if required.
“A final decision on any bid to host the Games would be taken by the government.
The 12-day event is expected to cost the host £3.5bn.The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) had been struggling to find a host before Victoria volunteered in April 2022.
The London mayor’s spokesperson added a decision to make a bid “would need to be taken by the government”.
“However, London is the sporting capital of the world, with a wealth of experience in hosting major sporting events.”
The mayor stands ready to support a submission for 2026 and future global events.”
India, a member of the Commonwealth, had previously hosted the Olympics in 2010. The nation had shown interest in hosting the event in 2026 or 2030.
“We have decided to make a bid for 2026 or 2030 Commonwealth Games and we have also decided to send our contingent to Birmingham for the 2022 Games,” IOA secretary general Rajiv Mehta said at the time.
However, following the original indication of intent at the end of December 2019, there has been no more action. Even though it’s too soon to make predictions, India doesn’t seem likely to succeed Victoria right now. With no obvious answer in sight and the Commonwealth Games Federation searching for alternatives, New Delhi may very well become a candidate but before this could even take place, India would have to declare itself a candidate to host the 2026 Olympic Games.
Who is the CGF?
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) is the organisation that is responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games, and for delivering on the vision of the Commonwealth Sports Movement: to build peaceful, sustainable and prosperous communities globally by inspiring Commonwealth Athletes to drive the impact and ambition of all Commonwealth Citizens through Sport.
