Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’ decision to axe the 2026 Commonwealth Games could be the final nail in the coffin for the international sporting event.
Experts warned 18 months ago that the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games could be the last one ever held after worldwide interest in hosting the event vanished in recent years.
The 2022 Games were originally planned to be held in Durban in South Africa but the city’s plans were scrapped over concerns about the costs spiralling out of control.
‘We gave it our best shot, but we can’t go beyond,’ South African sports minister Fikile Mbalula admitted at the time.
‘If the country says we don’t have this money, we can’t [host it].’
Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews’s (pictured) decision to axe the 2026 Commonwealth Games could be the final nail in the coffin for the landmark international sporting event
On Tuesday the state government said the projected $7billion cost was beyond what their budget could afford or justify for a 12-day sporting event (pictured, Australia’s netball team celebrate winning gold in Birmingham in 2022)
Birmingham, the UK’s second biggest city, stepped in to take over the 2022 event after none of the 70 countries in the Commonwealth Games Federations showed any interest in hosting it.
The city in the English Midlands was originally scheduled to hold the Games in 2026, leaving the event’s organisers desperately trying to fill the new gap in the schedule.
A lack of interest in the event continued when a ceremony to announce the hosts of the 2026 and 2030 Games due to be held in Kigali in Rwanda in 2019 had to be cancelled after a lack of willing participants.
Another announcement date in 2020 was also cancelled because of the Covid pandemic.
Games organisers were then forced to skip the usual request for bids and instead directly approached Victoria to beg the state to host the four-yearly extravaganza.
Premier Andrews agreed at the time on the basis that it would be held in regional Victoria rather than in Melbourne in a bid to boost rural economies.
But on Tuesday Mr Andrews said the projected $6-7billion cost was beyond what the budget could afford or justify for a 12-day sporting event.
The Commonwealth Games Federation said it received eight hours’ notice that the Games contract would be terminated and the government did not discuss solutions with it before reaching the decision.
It said the Victorian government had made the Games more expensive by including more sports and an additional regional hub, often against advice.
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‘The numbers quoted to us today of $6 billion are 50 per cent more than those advised to the organising committee board at its meeting in June,’ the federation said.
The decision now throws the entire future of the Games into doubt.
In its 93-year history, the event has almost always been hosted in the UK, Australia/New Zealand and Canada, with Jamaica, India and Malaysia the only other one-off hosts.
With Victoria now pulling the plug on 2026, there are concerns over who will be able to rapidly fill the gap, and the message it sends for future hosts.
Canada was widely predicted to host the 2030 event to mark the 100th anniversary of the Games, returning to Hamilton, Ontario, the original venue of the first Games in 1930.
Because of the centenary celebrations, it is unlikely the city will be prepared to move the Games forward to 2026 to fill the gap created by Victoria.
As one analyst predicted in 2022, when Birmingham stepped in to replace Durban, ‘it seems like the whole thing could collapse unless decisions can be made quickly’.
Jack Revell wrote in The Latch in February 2022: ‘There appears to be little interest from many of Britain’s former colonies.
‘After 92 years, only three countries are at all interested in keeping the tired imperial sporting event alive, and even then, only at a push.
‘With top-tier international sporting events like the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup drawing more and more attention each round, second level events like the Commonwealth Games could soon be seen as too much hassle to bother with.’
With Victoria now pulling the plug on 2026, there is concern over who will be able to rapidly fill the gap, and the message it sends for future hosts (pictured, Australia’s athletes at the 2022 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony
The Commonwealth Games Federation said the decision was hugely disappointing and blamed the surging costs on the decision to host it in the regions.
‘This is hugely disappointing for the Commonwealth Sport Movement, for athletes around the Commonwealth and the Organising Committee who are well advanced in their planning and preparation,’ said a CGF statement.
‘The reasons given are financial.
‘The numbers quoted to us today of $6 billion are 50 per cent more than those advised to the Organising Committee Board at its meeting in June.
‘These figures are attributed to price escalation primarily due to the unique regional delivery model that Victoria chose for these Games, and in particular relate to village and venue builds and transport infrastructure.’
