On Tuesday, the Australian state of Victoria walked out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, citing major cost-outs, leaving organizers angry as they struggled to keep the multi-sport event afloat.
The first estimated Aus$2 billion (US$1.36 billion) needed to hold the Games would most likely be approximately Aus$7 billion, which he called “well and truly too much”.
“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,” he said at a press conference in Melbourne.
He also stated that he will not take money out of hospitals and schools to organize an event that costs three times what was expected and budgeted for last year.
“The Games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026. We have informed Commonwealth Games authorities of our decision to seek to terminate the contract,” he added.
The event, which featured 20 sports and 26 disciplines, was scheduled to take place in five regional hubs across the state, including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland and Shepparton, each with its own athletes’ village.
Andrews stated that his team considered reducing the number of hubs or even transferring the Games to Melbourne, the state capital of Victoria, but “none of those options stack up.”
Instead, he announced an Aus$2 billion support package for regional Victoria.
Andrews refused to reveal how much it would cost to terminate the agreement, but he assured that talks with the Commonwealth Games Federation were amicable.
The Federation, on the other hand, was not happy, calling the action “hugely disappointing.”