Commonwealth Games 2026 host Victoria, Australia is dragging its feet on costs

Brisbane, Australia
CNN

Plans for one of the world’s biggest sporting events have been thrown into disarray after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to cost overruns.

Prime Minister Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne on Tuesday that initial estimates put the cost of the Games at A$2.6 billion ($1.7 billion) but new estimates put it closer to A$7 billion ($4.77 billion).

I’ve made a lot of tough calls, a lot of tough decisions in this job. This is not one of them, he added. Frankly, $6-7 billion for a 12-day sporting event. We don’t do that. It does not represent value for money. It’s all cost and no benefit.

The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event held every four years, in which thousands of athletes from 72 Commonwealth countries and territories participate. The last edition of the event, held in Birmingham, England, in 2022, was the biggest game in history.

Victoria was announced as the 2026 host last March after organizers struggled to find a suitable venue due to a lack of interest and disruption from Covid-19.

The decision to pull out appears to have surprised the event’s organizing committee, who say they had no warning of cost overruns and no opportunity to work on alternative proposals.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said in a statement on Tuesday that the decision was a huge disappointment to the Commonwealth Sport Movement and suggested cost concerns had not been previously raised by Victorian officials.

We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no discussion of the situation was considered to find a common solution before this decision was brought to the board, the statement said.

The statement said the estimated cost of A$6 billion quoted by Victorian officials on Tuesday was 50 per cent higher than the sum advised to the government by the organizing committee in June.

The CGF said the state’s decisions on sport and venues had often added significant costs against its advice and that of Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).

CGA chief executive Craig Phillips said in a statement that the government had deliberately ignored recommendations to move the events to Melbourne to reduce costs.

He said Victoria put forward the multi-city concept after the CGA solicited interest from other states and that they believed the reported cost overruns were gross overstatements.

He added that the CGA would welcome the opportunity to review the financial analysis, prepared independently of those involved in the design and delivery.

According to the Victoria 2026 website, the Games were to be held from the 17th to the 29th. March that year in regional Victoria, providing much-needed investment and international exposure to areas outside the state capital, Melbourne.

Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton will be on the world stage, attracting millions of spectators and creating thousands of jobs, the site said.

Five regional centers were to host 20 sports and 9 fully integrated para-sports, including weightlifting, lawn bowls and track cycling.

Instead of hosting the Games, Victoria will build at least 1,300 affordable homes and permanent sports facilities it had promised to promote regional tourism and events, Mr Andrews said.

The federation said it was taking advice on the options available and remained committed to finding a solution so the games could go ahead.