Australia's Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of a blowout in projected costs.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday said his government last year agreed to host the next edition of the multi-sports event, but not at any cost.
“Today is not about finding fault with those cost estimates,” he said, declining to outline the reasons for the cost blowouts. “Frankly, AU$6-AU$7 ($4.67 approx) billion for a 12-day sporting event, we are not doing that — that does not represent value for money, that is all costs and no benefit," Andrews told PTI. Initially, the budget for the Games was 2.6 billion AUD ($1.8 billion approx.).
The question now remains, what's next for the Games? The games were supposed to be held in the regions of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton. After Victoria pulled out, the neighbouring state of New South Wales said it will not step in, citing budgetary concerns. Leaders of all the other states backed out from the prospect of hosting it, except for Queensland.
At this point, it is unclear whether the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) would be able to find a new host city in time. Since the first Commonwealth Games, known as the British Empire Games were held in Hamilton, Ontario in Canada in 1930, the event has been cancelled only once-- at the outbreak of World War II in 1942 and 1946.
In 2015, the Canadian city of Edmonton withdrew from hosting the Games, citing cost concerns. Post this, the South African city of Durban was awarded the games. In 2017, however, the city was stripped of its rights to host after it failed to meet the promises it made in the bid. The games were eventually held in Birmingham in the UK at a whopping budget of £560mn ($733mn approx) with the local council putting in another £190mn ($248 mn approx).
A point of contention regarding the Commonwealth Games is its colonial origins and reportedly that it hasn't been able to attract younger audiences. Besides, of the 56 members, about 35 criminalise same-sex relations and of these, seven can sentence offenders to life imprisonment, under the 19th-century rule Britain had imposed. It can therefore, in short, be said that the games might be losing relevance. Dame Louise Martin, the president of the Commonwealth Games Federation told The Guardian, she recognises that the Games need to adapt and modernise.
How did the Commonwealth Games start?
In 1891, Australian-born Astley Cooper first came up with the idea of the Games or sports competitions to demonstrate the unity of the British Empire. As a predecessor of sorts of the Games, in 1911 a 'Festival of the Empire' was held to celebrate the coronation of King George V. Teams from the United Kingdom, Australasia (Australia and New Zealand), Canada, and South Africa participated in a series of events including athletics, boxing, wrestling, and swimming.
In the 1930 games, eleven countries sent 400 athletes for varied sports like athletics, lawn bowls, boxing, rowing, swimming, and wrestling. At the time, women competed in only the swimming events.
In 1934, the South African city of Johannesburg was to host the Games, but, due to concerns over prejudice against players of colour and the nation's apartheid policy, the Games were moved to London. At this event, sixteen countries participated, with women participating in the athletics events for the first time.
As for now, seems like the fate of the sporting event, which attracts more than 4,000 athletes is up in the air. Roger Cook, the premier of Western Australia told the Guardian that, “The Commonwealth Games aren’t what they used to be and as a result of that they don’t provide the return on investment.”
The interest in the event seemed to be waning since 2019, when the host city for 2026 was supposed to be finalised but was postponed after a lack of willing participants. The game organisers in 2022, skipped the usual request for bids and instead directly approached Victoria to host the Games. The 2030 Games are expected to be hosted in Hamilton in Canada to mark the 100th anniversary of the Games.