Australia's Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, its state chief citing the rising budget as the reason. Victoria premier Daniel Andrews said his government initially earmarked AU$2.6 billion (Rs 14,760cr) to stage the 23rd edition of the quadrennial Games in five cities, but as per the recent estimates, the cost has gone up to Au$7bn (Rs 39,360cr).
For the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Victoria's withdrawal poses the immediate headache of finding a new host. In a larger sense, it is also confronted by the rising debate over keeping the relevance of the colonial games alive with many arguing that the idea of the Commonwealth itself is outdated at present.
