Australia’s Comm Games body splashes millions more on Glasgow 2026 games

Australia’s Commonwealth Games body is offering Scotland a multimillion-dollar investment to help resurrect the 2026 Games, which were due to be held in Victoria until the Andrews government pulled out because of the cost.

Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) confirmed overnight it had committed additional funding for the Glasgow games to ameliorate the “financial and reputational risk” raised by the Scottish government this week.

Commonwealth Games Australia president Ben Houston.Credit: Eamon Gallagher

The Scottish government had asked the UK to underwrite the games, requesting $4.5 million to cover any security cost blowouts. But the UK refused and Scotland’s government has said it won’t use any public funds for the event.

Earlier this week, Scotland’s cabinet secretary Neil Gray said the government was still weeks away from a decision on whether they could host the “ambitious” event.

CGA president Ben Houston did not specify how much the organisation was willing to put towards the Glasgow games, but said it would be a “multimillion”-dollar offer. The extra funds could be as much as the $4.5 million requested from the UK government.

The Commonwealth Games Foundation has already offered Scotland almost $200 million to help host the event – money that came from the Andrews government’s $380 million compensation payment for reneging on holding the games in regional Victoria.

Victoria abandoned the Games in July last year when the estimated cost soared from $2.6 billion to almost $7 billion. In March, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office found the updated cost was overstated and not transparent.

“As one of the beneficiaries of the settlement with the Victorian government, we today commit a multimillion-pound investment into the Games to be further negotiated with Commonwealth Games Scotland and the Scottish government,” Houston said in a press release.

“Now is not the time to walk away from a Games that has inspired for generations, and we look forward to working collaboratively toward an outcome that benefits Commonwealth nations, their athletes, coaches and fans.”

The 2026 Games will be reduced to between 10 and 13 sports, about one-third fewer than the 2022 Games in Birmingham, England.

Then-premier Daniel Andrews and then-deputy Jacinta Allan announced the cancellation on July 18 last year.Credit: Joe Armao

Two weeks ago, Commonwealth Games Scotland stated the total estimated cost for the Glasgow event would be £114 million ($222 million) and that it would not require any government funding.

Houston said the Games were vital in the lead-up to Brisbane hosting the 2032 Olympics.

Fifty-one per cent of Australians who win medals at the Commonwealth Games also win medals at their next international competition, he said.

Commonwealth Games Australia receives no funding from the Australian government, with its income coming from private investments and commercial revenue.

With AAP

The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories, analysis and insights. Sign up here.