The games were scheduled to take place across four regional sites in the Australian state of Victoria: Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Latrobe Valley. The opening ceremony was to have been held in the state capital Melbourne at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, and the closing ceremony would have been held at Kardinia Park in Geelong. In a departure from previous Commonwealth Games, the event would have been held not in one major city, but across a number of regional cities outside the capital.[1] The Games were scheduled to take place over twelve days between 17 and 29 March 2026.[2] It would have been the sixth time that Australia hosted the Commonwealth Games, with the country previously hosting the Games in 1938, 1962, 1982, 2006 and 2018.
Development and preparations
In May 2022, the Victorian State Government allocated $2.6 billion to deliver the Commonwealth Games in the years leading to 2026.[3] This money would have been used to build housing, infrastructure and athletes hubs in each of the four regional sites.[4] The Andrews Government said that the priority was to use existing facilities as much as possible, with spending concentrated on supporting infrastructure.[4] The games were to be held in March to avoid clashes with the Australian Football League calendar in Melbourne.[4] In June 2022, the State Government announced Jeroen Weimar had been appointed chief executive of the 2026 Games organising committee.[5][6] Weimar is a public servant who rose to prominence as the state's COVID-19 Commander in charge of the pandemic response, and had previously served as the CEO of Public Transport Victoria.[7]
Venue construction and renovations
Though details were being released in relation to venue construction and upgrades for the games, all sports had been consolidated along with their locations. On 12 October 2022 the State Government announced a $150 million (AUD) upgrade to Eureka Stadium and its surrounds. Eureka Stadium upgrades would have included expansion of permanent seating from 5,300 to 10–11,000 after the Games, upgrading of the lighting, and the installation of 18,000 temporary seats. Other upgrades to the precinct would have included the addition of a nearby permanent athleticstrack.[8]
In Geelong, the City Hall has identified the construction of a new indoor arena to host the gymnastics and table tennis events as a "priority project". Additionally, the Geelong deputy mayor Trent Sullivan has hinted at several possible venues for the Games, including using Eastern Beach as a venue for triathlon and beach volleyball, the newly redeveloped Kardinia Park for cricket T20, and new or upgraded facilities to host aquatics.[9] In July 2022 the state government announced that Stead Park in Corio, a suburb of Geelong, would be upgraded to host the hockey events and have a capacity of 15,000 using a mix of permanent and temporary seating. It is to receive two new international-standard hockey pitches and is planned to become the state's premier field hockey facility.[10]Shepparton would have also hosted some cycling events.[11]
A temporary pop-up velodrome would have been installed at the Bendigo Showgrounds and shooting was also to be competed in Bendigo.
There was a possibility of a new train station to be constructed in Ballarat near Eureka Stadium, and in Bendigo near the showgrounds, however these were later ruled out due to cost constraints.[12][13]
An athlete's village would have been built in the four host cities, with the villages to be converted to social and affordable housing after the Games.[14][4] Village locations had been confirmed for the former Saleyards site in Ballarat, at Flora Hill in Bendigo and at Morwell in the Latrobe Valley.
Golf and Coastal Rowing (in the Bellarine Peninsula and Torquay respectively[18]) would have taken place in this hub, but venues were not announced prior to Victoria's plan cancellations.
The opening ceremony was scheduled to take place on 17 March 2026 at the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The closing ceremony was scheduled to take place on 29 March 2026 at Kardinia Park, during which the Commonwealth Games Federation flag would have been handed over to the representatives of the 2030 Commonwealth Games, which will be known as the Centenary Games.
Planned sports
Under new rules designed to encourage cities to bid for the Commonwealth Games, the CGF required only two sports must be played in future Games: athletics and swimming.[20] Despite this, sixteen sports were agreed to for the planned 2026 Victorian Games, with a further seven the subject of discussion between the governing bodies and the Victorian Government.[20] The list includes T20 cricket, for which a women's tournament was held at Birmingham 2022, alongside the following: swimming and diving, athletics, badminton, boxing, beach volleyball, cycling, gymnastics, hockey, lawn bowls, netball, rugby sevens, squash, table tennis, triathlon and weightlifting.[21] In April 2022, the Indian Olympic Association demanded that the 2026 Games also include archery, shooting and wrestling.[21] In July 2022 the State Government announced that they opened an expressions of interest process for the inclusion of sports beyond the initial 16 planned.[2][22]
The final list of sports was announced in October 2022, with the addition of 3x3 Basketball, 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, Shooting, Shooting Para Sport, Mountain Bike Cross Country, Track Cycling and Para Cycling Track added, along with the debut at Commonwealth Games of coastal rowing, golf and BMX.[11] There will be a total of 21 sports and 26 disciplines, of which ten are fully integrated Para sports.[11] Judo, wrestling and rhythmic gymnastics were dropped after featuring in the 2022 Games.[23]
On 18 July 2023, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan announced the state government intended to cancel the 2026 Victorian Games.[24][25] Fifteen months after agreeing to host the Games, the Premier said the cost had escalated to an estimated $6–7 billion, double the estimated benefits, and the government could not justify the expense.[26] The state said it would terminate its host agreement with the Commonwealth Games Federation and seek a settlement of the contract.[27]
The Premier said the state would redirect $2 billion in funding allocated to the Games to a regional development package of sporting infrastructure and housing, including $1 billion for 1,300 regional affordable and social housing units.[26] It also committed to delivering all of the permanent sporting facility upgrades planned as part of the Victorian Games.[27] The Premier told media: "What's become clear is that the cost of hosting these Games in 2026 is not the $2.6 billion which was budgeted and allocated. I will not take money out of hospitals and schools to host an event that is three times the cost estimated and budgeted for last year."[26]
Australian athletes and representatives of regional Victoria expressed disappointment at the decision.[28] The Commonwealth Games Federation blamed decisions taken by the Victorian government for the cost overruns and the head of the Commonwealth Games Australia described the estimated $6–7 billion figure as an exaggeration.[26] The Andrews government had already allocated $2.6 billion to the Games in its 2022 budget and was seeking a 50–50 funding commitment from the Federal Government, but had not received any funding commitment.[29]
Following the announcement, all Australian state and territory leaders ruled out hosting the Games due to the expected costs and short timeframe.[30][31] The South Australian government said it had previously examined hosting the Games in Adelaide, but concluded it would cost $3.5 billion with only $1.2 billion in benefits.[30]
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