Australian state cancels 2026 Commonwealth Games over cost blowout

SYDNEY — 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.

The decision 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.

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.