Commonwealth Games

Australian state cancels 2026 Commonwealth Games over cost blowout

Victoria pulls out of holding the sports competition after estimated price more than doubled.

BY ZOYA SHEFTALOVICH

Australia’s state of Victoria will pull out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to a cost blowout, Premier Daniel Andrews announced Tuesday.

The games, which were supposed to be held in five regional cities around Victoria in March 2026, would not be worth the ballooning cost, Andrews said in a press conference.

“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,” Andrews said of his shock move.

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 to from here, the games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026.”

Andrews said he didn’t know how much it would cost Victoria to pull out of its commitment to host the games, but insisted the regional cities which were supposed to host the tournament would still benefit from new facilities. He also said it would not be possible for the games to be held in Melbourne, the Victorian capital.

Andrews said Victoria’s representatives would discuss what happens next with Commonwealth Games officials in London, where the games are headquartered, later on Tuesday.

Victoria announced in April 2022 that it would host the next Commonwealth Games in several regional cities. At the time, the Andrews government said the competition would contribute more than $3 billion to the state’s economy. “It’s a great honor to have Victoria chosen as the host venue for the 2026 Commonwealth Games — we can’t wait to welcome the world to all of our state,” Andrews said at the time.

In his own press conference on Tuesday, Commonwealth Games Australia boss Craig Phillips said the decision was “absolutely embarrassing” and “beyond disappointing.”

Phillips said the Victorian government only notified his organization of its decision to pull out of hosting duties at around 8 a.m. on Tuesday morning local time — just hours before Andrews’ press conference.

Victoria’s move prompted officials elsewhere in Australia to push for the games to be held in their state. The Lord Mayor of Perth Basil Zempilas called for the Premier of Western Australia Roger Cook to bid to host the games in Perth. Meanwhile, Australia’s Daily Telegraph reported that New South Wales sports authorities are “set to swoop” to host the games.

But all of Australia’s larger states have now said they would not be willing to take the mantle from Victoria, meaning the games are unlikely to find a host city in the country.

NSW Premier Chris Minns ruled out bidding for the games due to the costs involved, as did Western Australia Premier Roger Cook, who said it would be “ruinously expensive.” South Australia and Tasmania also ruled out hosting the event, as has Queensland, which hosted the 2018 games. That leaves only the Northern Territory and the Australian Capital Territory, neither of which is likely to have the capacity to host a major global sporting event.

In a statement, the Commonwealth Games Federation described Victoria’s decision to pull out of hosting as “hugely disappointing.”

The Commonwealth Games take place every four years, with athletes from 72 nations and territories including Australia, Canada, England, India, Pakistan, South Africa and others competing in sports such as cricket, netball, rugby, golf, athletics and swimming. The event started as an alternative to the Olympics in 1930, with athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations and their territories eligible to compete.

The last Commonwealth Games was held in Birmingham in the U.K. last year.