The next Commonwealth games due to take place in Victoria, Australia in 2026, have been thrown into doubt after the the state’s Premier, Daniel Andrews, announced that they were withdrawing their commitment with immediate effect, blaming huge increases in cost projections and stating that the impact of the escalated expenditure outweighed any possible benefits to the region.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) were left shocked and blind-sided calling the decision “hugely disappointing” as it came with just eight hours notice. They had struggled to find a willing host before Victoria volunteered in April 2022. They were said to be “taking advice on the options available” but insisted that they remained committed to finding a solution so the Games could go ahead.
There were 72 competing nations or dependencies at the 2022 tournament in Birmingham, England, including 16 from the Caribbean, and it will be hoped that one of the major cities of the Commonwealth with the majority of infrastructure already in place, could come to the rescue, but it will be a race against time.
There must however be a genuine possibility that the Games, which have only ever been cancelled in the past due to World War Two, could fail to find a willing host given that there are only three years to prepare and experts have previously warned about the diminishing interest in delivering a Games as a host city, because of the vast financial outlay it requires.
Unjustifiable outlay
Organisers had originally estimated the event would cost $2.6 billion AUS (£1.4bn; $1.8bn) and the state government had billed it as a boost for the regions around the cities of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton, which were due to stage various sports of the Games.
Mr Andrews in his shock statement, announced that the hosting cost of the Games had spiralled to a staggering $6 billion AUS and pointed out that although Victoria had been “happy to help out” when initially approached last year, it was not “at any price” and the projections were now “well and truly too much to bear” or indeed justify for the state.
He went on to say: “I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job, but this is not one of them, because frankly 6-7 billion Australian dollars for a 12-day sporting event does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit and we are not doing that.”
Political motivation?
The state Premier said that the government remain committed to completing stadium upgrades as promised, but would now use the money it is now saving, on building at least 1,300 affordable homes and tourism initiatives.
Victorian Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the decision is a “massive humiliation” for the state, and “hugely damaging” for its reputation as a global events leader.
Exaggerated costs?
The CGF were shocked that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions and said that the estimate of $6 billion AUS is double the figure that they were advised of at a board meeting only last month, and that any increase in costs were due to the “unique regional delivery model” that Victoria had chosen for the games.
They added that: “Up until this point, the Government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games,” with a hint at some possible exaggerations in play.
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