The Australian State of Victoria pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Tuesday, July 18, 2023 citing major cost blow-outs, leaving organisers fuming as they scrambled to keep the multi-sport event afloat.
State Premier Daniel Andrews said the initial estimated Aus$2 billion (US$1.36 billion) needed to hold the Games would more likely be around 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.
