On Tuesday morning Premier Daniel Andrews announced that his government would no longer support the games because it was clear the cost would exceed $6 billion. The Opposition called the cancellation of the Commonwealth Games a “humiliation for Victoria.”
Victoria cancelled hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of deep financial woes. The rights to host the 2026 event were awarded to regional Victoria last year after Birmingham replaced South Africa’s Durban as host of the 2022 games.
“This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria, and it confirms that Victoria is broke, and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts. The cancellation of the Commonwealth Games is hugely damaging to Victoria’s reputation as a global events leader,” the Victorian Opposition statement said.
Premier Andrews at a presser on Tuesday morning said, “$6 billion to $7 billion for a 12-day sporting event” did not represent value for money, and that it was “all costs and no benefit.” The Victorian government set aside $2.6 billion for the event, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, and Gippsland slated to host their own athletes’ villages and sports programs.
Commonwealth Games Australia Executive Officer, Craig Phillips AM, in a statement issued on Tuesday, called the decision by the Victorian Government “beyond disappointing.” “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.”
“The multi-city model for delivering Victoria 2026 was an approach proposed by the Victorian Government, in accordance with the strategic roadmap of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).”
The Commonwealth Games Australia Executive Officer said that the “stated cost overruns, in our opinion, are a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operational costs presented to the committee (by the state govt) as early as June.”
Basil Zempilas, the Mayor of the City of Perth, and sports commentator, was quick to put forward Perth as a host. He said on Twitter,
“COMMONWEALTH GAMES… Not often you get a second chance like this @CityofPerth. Here’s how it should work – we tell the @thecgf how much we will pay. We tell them ‘here are our venues’; you make YOUR games fit around what we have. Perth is in the driver’s seat; they need us.”
“And a big chunk of what we do spend, we spend on building the athletes’ villages – which the day after the games finish become social and affordable housing for 8000 West Australians. We get the event. At the right price. And social housing for 8000 by 2026. Let’s do it.”
And a big chunk of what we do spend we spend on building the athletes villages – which the day after the games finish become social and affordable housing for 8000 West Australians.
We get the event.
At the right price.
And social housing for 8000 by 2026.Let’s do it.
— Basil Zempilas (@BasilZempilas) July 18, 2023
Western Australia Premier Roger Cook dampened Zempilas’ desire, calling the event “ruinously expensive” after Andrews said the expected cost for Victoria to host the games had blown out from $2.6 billion to $6 or $7 billion.
Neos Kosmos sought comment from Steve Dimopoulos, Victoria’s Minister for Tourism, Sport, and Major Events, but he has not returned our calls yet.
The Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery Jacinta Allan has not been contacted yet.
