2026 commonwealth games
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The Australian state of Victoria has pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The reason for this has been given as the high cost. The organizers are very angry with this decision of Victoria. No country is interested in hosting the Commonwealth Games. Because of this, the organizers are already struggling a lot to continue this competition. Victoria’s premier Daniel Andrews said the initial cost of the Games was estimated at 2 billion Australian dollars, but the reality is that hosting the Games would cost around 7 billion Australian dollars, which is too high.
The Premier of Victoria said, “I have made many difficult decisions in this job. This is not one of them. To be honest, Melbourne will need seven billion dollars to host the Commonwealth Games, we are not doing it. Will not charge hospitals and schools to host an event that has tripled last year’s estimated cost and budget. There will be no Commonwealth Games in Victoria in 2026. We have informed the Commonwealth Games officials about our decision to terminate the contract has been informed.”
There are 20 sports and 26 categories in the Commonwealth Games. It was to be held in five regional centers in Victoria, including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland and Shepparton, each with its own athlete village.
Andrews said his team had considered cutting the number of centers or even moving the Games to Melbourne, the capital of the state of Victoria, but neither of those options worked out. Instead, he announced a two billion Australian dollars aid package for regional Victoria. Andrews declined to say how much it was going to cost to end the deal, but insisted that talks with the Commonwealth Games Federation were amicable. However, the Federation was not happy and described the move as “extremely disappointing”.
“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that the government has not taken any thought to discuss the situation to jointly find a solution before reaching this decision,” it said in a statement.
Victoria was awarded the contract as the exclusive bidder 14 months ago, with the federation claiming the state has since decided to include more sports, added an additional regional centre, and changed plans for venues. Is. This additional spending was “often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia”, which said it had received assurances that “Victoria had sufficient funding available to hold the 2026 Commonwealth Games”.
The future of the Commonwealth Games hangs in the balance with Victoria’s decision to pull out, with the least number of countries showing interest in hosting it in recent times, which are seen as losing their relevance. The federation stressed that it was “committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026 that is in the best interests of our athletes and the wider Commonwealth Games movement”.
The event usually attracts over 4,000 athletes from the 54 countries of the Commonwealth, almost all of which are former territories of the British Empire. The Commonwealth Games were last held in Birmingham in 2022. In a letter to staff quoted by the Herald Sun newspaper, Commonwealth Games Australia president Ben Houston said he was told about the decision on Tuesday morning. He also called it “extremely disappointing”, adding: “We are working with the Commonwealth Games Federation to understand the wider implications for the Games in 2026.” The Victoria state opposition called Andrews’ decision a “huge disgrace” and “extremely damaging to Victoria’s reputation as a leader of global events”.