Australia's Victoria state has decided not to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to overwhelming cost. When the initial budget estimate of Aus$2 billion rose to over Aus$7 billion. State's Premier, Daniel Andrews, called it "well and truly too much."
He informed the Commonwealth Games authorities of their plan to terminate the contract and declared that the Games will not take place in Victoria in 2026.
The multi-sport competition, which includes 26 disciplines and 20 sports, was supposed to take place in Victoria across five regional centers. However, Andrews' team looked into cost-cutting ideas like fewer hubs or shifting the Games to Melbourne but discovered they were impractical. Instead, an Aus$2 billion support package for regional Victoria was unveiled by the state.
"I've made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job. This is not one of them. Frankly, $7 billion for a sporting event, we are not doing that," Daniel Andrews said at a press conference in Melbourne.
“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools to host an event that is three times the cost estimated and budgeted for last year," he said.
The Commonwealth Games Federation expressed disappointment with the decision and stated, “We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours' notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the government".
The Federation asserted that Victoria had gone against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia by diverging from the agreed-upon plans and that they are incurring extra costs.
The decision has drawn dismay and criticism from a number of sources, including the Victorian state opposition. Concerns have been made regarding the effect on the Games and Victoria's reputation as a leader in global events.
© Copyright 2023. All Rights Reserved Powered by Vygr Media
