No taker: Australia pull out as Commonwealth Games 2026 host

Australia's state of Victoria will not be hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected exceeding expenditures. This has raised doubts on the multi-sport event that takes place every four years. Victoria state Premier Dan Andrews has said the cost of the Games, that were to have been held in four regional hubs, was going more than twice the estimated economic benefit the Games would bring to the state. He said that more than 6 billion dollars for a 12-day sporting event is just too high. The Victoria Premier said, the main reason they agreed to host the Games was to create a big lasting benefit for the regions with more housing, boosts to tourism and sporting infrastructure upgrades. He further said instead of spending on hosting the games, other projects like building 1300 new social and affordable housing homes in regional Victoria will be built. The government will also build permanent sporting facilities that were promised for 2026. He said, these projects will create around 3,000 jobs right around the state, and deliver what regional communities have asked for.

“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools to fund an event that is three times the cost as estimated and budgeted for last year.” Andrews said Victoria had already informed the global Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), but the cost of breaking the 2026 contract had yet to be decided. 

“It’s a comprehensive letdown for the athletes, the excited host communities, First Nations Australians who were at the heart of the Games, and the millions of fans that would have embraced a sixth home Games in Australia,” CGA Chief Executive Craig Phillips said in a statement.“The stated costs overrun, in our opinion, are a gross exaggeration,” he said. The sporting event for mostly former British colonies has struggled to remain relevant, with five of the last six editions held in Australia or Britain. A bid for Canadian city Hamilton to host the 2030 Games collapsed in February after failure to secure government support.