‘All cost, no benefit’: Victoria cancels 2026 Commonwealth Games

The 2026 Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria will not go ahead, Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed in a bombshell announcement.

The Commonwealth Games won’t be held in Melbourne in 2026. Image: Getty

Key Takeaways Victoria will not proceed with the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to funding issues.

Premier Dan Andrews said the cost of the Games could balloon out to $7 billion – and that he refuses to spend that on a 12-day sporst event.

The Andrews government had initially estimated the games would cost $2.6 billion across five regional sites in Victoria.

All other Australian states immediately ruled out making a play for the 2026 Games.

The boss of Australia’s Comm Games labelled the price estimation by Andrews as a “gross exaggeration”.

The premier cited exorbitant costs as the reason the 2026 Commonwealth Games will not be going ahead.

“The games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026,” he said at a snap press conference on Tuesday morning.

“We have informed Commonwealth Games authorities of our decision to seek to terminate the contract and to not conduct, not host the Games. Meetings occurred amicable and productive meetings occurred in London last night and they will again continue London time later on today,” he said.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews made the announcement Tuesday morning. Image: Getty

“What’s become clear is that the cost of hosting these games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted and allocated… it is in fact at least $6 billion and could be as high as $7 billion.

“I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job. This is not one of them. Frankly, six to seven billion for a 12-day sporting event, we are not doing that. That does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit

“We will instead deliver all and more of the legacy benefits in housing, sporting infrastructure, tourism and we will unpack all that tomorrow and throughout the week.”

Andrews told reporters that the cost of the games would have taken money out of schools, hospitals and roads.

The main reason we agreed to host the Games was to create a big lasting benefit for our regions – with more housing, boosts to tourism and sporting infrastructure upgrades.

So here’s what we’re doing instead. — Dan Andrews (@DanielAndrewsMP) July 17, 2023

“There is a very substantial regional tourism fund and a substantial package of support for community-based sport and perhaps most importantly they will be a $1 billion boost for social and affordable housing right across regional Victoria and not just in those hub cities but they will be at least 1300 new homes constructed across regional Victoria,” he said.

“This represents a massive boost and a direct response to what is perhaps the biggest challenge across regional Victoria and indeed across our state and that is the supply of housing and the number of housing options that Victorians have before them.”

The premier confirmed that the state government had been in discussions with the Commonwealth Games organisers last night, but refused to speculate on the cost of terminating the hosting agreement.

“I’m not here to apologise for not spending seven billion dollars,” he reiterated.

Meanwhile, Victoria’s Liberal leader of the opposition John Pesutto has labelled the announcement as a “massive humiliation” for Daniel Andrews.

“This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts,” he wrote on Twitter.

The Andrews Government’s decision to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games is a massive humiliation for Victoria.

This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts. JP pic.twitter.com/AtixDEf4Dx — John Pesutto (@JohnPesutto) July 17, 2023

Every other state says no thanks

South Australia, Queensland, New South Wales, Tasmania and Western Australia have all ruled out making a bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, promptly ending any speculation.

‘$7 billion a gross exaggeration: Commonwealth Games boss

Commonwealth Games Australia CEO, Craig Phillips, didn’t hold back in his response to the Andrews government’s announcement, saying they had “jeopardised Melbourne and Victoria’s standing as a sporting capital of the world.”

“It’s a comprehensive letdown for the athletes, the excited host communities, First Nations Australians who were going to be at the heart of the Games, and the millions of fans that would have embraced the sixth home games in Australia,” Phillips said.