LAUSANNE: – Australian Victoria State Premier Daniel Andrews announced Tuesday morning the cancellation of plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to budget blowouts. The Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) has described Victoria’s withdrawal decision from hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games as “beyond disappointing.”
Australia has previously held the Commonwealth Games five times – including the Gold Coast 2018 and in the Victorian capital of Melbourne in 2006 – but all of the country’s states on Tuesday ruled out picking up the event due to high costs.
The Victoria 2026 staff were informed of the decision in a morning meeting, briefly before Andrews publicly confirm the news in a press conference in Melbourne: “We have informed Commonwealth Games authorities of our decision to seek to terminate the contract and to not conduct, not host the Games,” Andrews stated.