Victoria has announced that it will withdraw as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected cost overruns. Reuters reports that Victorian Premier Andrews said the cost of holding the Commonwealth Games in four regions as scheduled could have risen from a budgeted A$2.6 billion to more than A$7 billion.
The cost of terminating the contract with the 2026 Commonwealth Games has not yet been calculated
The Commonwealth Games Federation said they had been notified and had not considered working with Victoria to develop a solution. And it says the decision is very disappointing for Republican Commonwealth Sport, the athletes and the organizing committee who are well advanced in their planning and preparations.
The federation said Victoria's projected costs were 50 percent higher than the estimate made to the Commonwealth Games Federation organizing committee last month. The statement also accused the Victorian government of increasing costs by including more sports and changing venue plans, and of “routinely going against” the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia.
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