The 2026 Commonwealth Games were left in the lurch after Australia's Victoria state pulled out from hosting the event due to budget blow-outs, leaving the organisers scrambling to find a new host for the multi-sport event.
State premier Daniel Andrews said the initial estimated A$2bn (£1.04bn) required to host the games is now expected to cost them A$7bn (£3.65bn), which was "truly too much" to spend on a "12-day sporting event".
The games lacked a host city before Victoria volunteered in April 2022 after being approached by the Commonwealth Games Federation. The announcement left the federation furious, who called the decision "hugely disappointing".
The federation said it remained “committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026 that is in the best interest of our athletes and the wider Commonwealth Sport Movement”.
The Victoria premier on Tuesday said: "Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out, but of course not at any price.
“I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them. Frankly, $7bn for a sporting event, we are not doing that," he said at a press conference in Melbourne.
Mr Andrews said the games did not represent value for money, adding that they have had “cordial discussions” with the Commonwealth authorities in London and will continue discussions with them.
He said the government considered "all options", including moving the games to Melbourne, before informing the federation about their decision.
He said: “It is not appropriate and it is against the interest of taxpayers for me to speculate and conduct a negotiation with people on the other side of the world at a press conference here today.
"In the meantime, we are going to let our team that are in London work through these issues."
Mr Andrews said the money budgeted will be used to improve sporting complexes and housing in regional Victoria. The games were set to be held in regional Victoria across towns like Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
The Commonwealth Games Federation in a statement said "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".
“Up until this point, the government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.”
Following the announcement, Basil Zempilas, the mayor of Perth in Western Australia, called for the games to come to the city.
"COMMONWEALTH GAMES… Not often you get a second chance like this City of Perth. Here’s how it should work – we tell the (Commonwealth Games Federation) how much we will pay. We tell them ‘here are our venues’ you make YOUR games fit around what we have," he tweeted.
“Perth is in the driver’s seat, they need us."
Australia held the games on the Gold Coast in 2018 and in Melbourne in 2006. The games first began in 1930 and have only ever been cancelled during World War II.
The last games in 2022 were held in England after Birmingham stepped in late.
