Brisbane, Australia
CNN
—
The Australian state of Victoria has canceled plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the predicted cost of the international sporting event blew out three times original estimates, state authorities said Tuesday.
Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters in Melbourne Tuesday that initial estimates had put the cost at 2.6 billion Australian dollars ($1.7 billion), but new estimates had put it closer to 7 billion Australian dollars ($4.77 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 added. “Frankly, six 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.”
The Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event involving thousands of athletes representing 72 Commonwealth countries and territories, held every four years. The last edition of the event, held in Birmingham, England in 2022, was the largest Games on record.
Victoria was announced as 2026 host last March after organizers had struggled to find an appropriate location due to lack of interest and Covid-19 disruptions. Its decision to pull out throws the next edition of the Games into doubt.
In a statement Tuesday, the Commonwealth Games Federation said the decision was “hugely disappointing for the Commonwealth Sport Movement,” and suggested that Victorian authorities hadn’t previously raised cost concerns.
“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.
The statement said the estimated cost of $6 billion quoted by Victorian authorities on Tuesday was 50% higher than the figure advised to the Organizing Committee board in June.
The Federation said decisions the state had made concerning sports and venues had “added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).”
The Federation said it was “taking advice on the options available” and remained committed to finding a solution so the Games could go ahead.
According to the Victoria 2026 website, the Games were to have been held from March 17 to 29 of that year in regional Victoria, giving areas outside the state capital Melbourne much-needed investment and international exposure.
“Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton will be on the world stage, attracting millions of viewers 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 the permanent sporting facilities it had promised in an effort to boost regional tourism and events, Andrews said.
