Daniel Andrews reveals Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games will not go ahead
Australia’s Commonwealth Games chief says scrapping the Games is embarrassing for Melbourne’s claim to be the sporting capital, while he questioned the sums used to justify the decision.
Victoria
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Australia’s Commonwealth Games chief has slammed Victoria’s decision to pull out of the event, questioning the sums used to justify the call.
Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday morning confirmed the event would not go ahead in Victoria in 2026 and blamed a higher-than-forecast cost for the sudden cancellation.
But Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips AM said the Andrews government’s move was “beyond disappointing”.
He said the multi-city regional model was pitched to the Commonwealth Games Federation after it sought interest from multiple states.
“They did not step in as hosts at the last minute, as indicated by the Premier earlier today,” Mr Phillips said.
“The detailed budgetary implications announced today have not been sighted or discussed with the CGF or CGA ahead of being notified of the government’s decision.
“The stated costs overrun, in our opinion, are a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operational costs presented to the Victoria 2026 Organising Committee board as recently as June.
“Beyond this, the Victorian government wilfully ignored recommendations to move events to purpose-built stadia in Melbourne ...”.
Mr Phillips said Commonwealth Games Australia had pushed to bring down costs by moving some events in Melbourne but there was a “slavish” desire within the government to keep all events in the regions.
“Certainly the cost of some of those temporary builds, particularly with limited legacy value to them, were of concern to us, and we made that known to the Victorian government,” he said.
“Some of the costs were heading north because of inflationary factors that there were some measures which could have brought some of the venues back into Melbourne without compromising the desire to have content in regional Victoria.
“The velodrome is the best example of that, you have a purpose-built velodrome here at John Cain Arena but the we were continuing to prosecute running a Games in a temporary venue in Bendigo that would have no legacy value.
“These are the type of conversations we had with the government over some months about how the Games’ costs could be contained but (they) didn’t want to hear it.”
Mr Phillips said this pressures had likely led to cost increases but not to the extent reported by the government.
He said he found it hard to believe the government’s claims it would cost $4bn to run the games in Melbourne, with the Gold Coast event costing about $1.2bn to run while Birmingham’s was about $1.8bn.
“I’m not sure how we get a leap of more than double that to run the Games,” Mr Phillips said.
Mr Phillips said the news was embarrassing for Melbourne’s claim to be the nation’s sporting capital.
“The most recent figures on a survey that’s done globally about sporting cities, Melbourne have already slipped from 10 to 23.
“I can’t see going north after today’s announcement.
“I’d be very careful if I was an international sporting body coming and doing business in the states in the future.
“I don’t think I’ve had many days in my career that would rank with this one in terms of the level of disappointment.
“A state that prides itself on being the sporting capital of the world, I’m not sure this is a great look.”
Mr Phillips said his organisation would welcome the opportunity to review the government’s financial analysis, which alleged the Games could now cost up to $7bn.
“The Victorian government, however, has jeopardised Melbourne and Victoria’s standing as a sporting capital of the world,” he said.
Premier won’t reveal cost to taxpayers
Daniel Andrews won’t reveal how much Victorian taxpayers could fork out to tear up the Commonwealth Games contract, as he also refused to apologise to athletes and regional Victoria for the embarrassing backflip.
The 12-day event was due to cost $2.6bn but the Andrews government on Tuesday admitted projections had blown out to more than $6bn.
Last year, Victoria agreed to host the event across five regional centres, with major cities Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Shepprton and Gippsland to be transformed into mini hubs.
But on Tuesday, Mr Andrews abruptly cancelled the event because of higher than predicted costs.
“The Games will not proceed here in Victoria in 2026,” he said.
“This is not a difficult decision in many respects ... I cannot stand here and say I have any confidence that even $7bn would appropriately and adequately fund these games. I think it could be more than that.
“Six to seven billion dollars is truly too much for a 12-day sporting event. I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost as estimated and budgeted for last year.”
Following a cabinet meeting on Monday evening, Mr Andrews said the government informed the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia of its decision to terminate the contract.
Mr Andrews said “amicable and productive” meetings occurred in London last night, and would continue later today.
He refused to say how much taxpayers could be forced to pay to break the contract.
In August 2018, former Queensland Commonwealth Games Minister Kate Jones said legal advice indicated the costs of breaking the contract for the 2018 Gold Coast event, would be “in excess of $1bn”.
The cost of breaking the contract has not yet been determined, Mr Andrews said.
“There’ll be a full accounting of the cost of the break of this contract. That’s not settled. It’s simply not finished yet,” he said.
“It would be bad faith and frankly against the interest of taxpayers and all Victorians if I was to try and conduct that negotiation from the other side of the world at a press conference.”
Mr Andrews said he didn’t feel a need to apologise to athletes or Victorian communities and businesses who had been gearing up for the event.
“No. I’m not here to apologise for not spending $7bn ... we are not delivering it at any cost,” he said.
He added that federal funding wasn’t a consideration in suspending the event completely.
The Commonwealth was informed of the decision on Tuesday morning.
Moving the event to Melbourne, which boasts existing infrastructure, or proceeding with fewer events was canvassed as a cost-cutting exercise.
But Mr Andrews said costs would still be too high, with a Melbourne event expected to cost upwards of $4bn.
Commonwealth Games Victoria chief executive Jeroen Weimar said his project team of about 100 staff would now be disbanded.
The government confirmed that job losses were inevitable.
“We are suspending operations given that the government has made this really, really difficult decision,” Mr Weimar said.
“For all of us this has come as a huge shock.
“We built a world class team to do something which was incredibly difficult to deliver these games in a record time in a new decentralised model.
“The disappointment for us is that we can’t go on and deliver (but) ... we can’t flinch away from the reality of bringing these games to life and what that’s going to cost.”
Mr Weimar said concerns about costs had been “emerging over the last few weeks and few months”.
Both Commonwealth Games Delivery Minister Jacinta Allan, who had to end her leave period early to make the announcement, and Commonwealth Games Legacy Minister Harriet Shing will have their portfolios stripped.
The government has confirmed that every permanent new and upgraded sporting infrastructure projects planned as part of the Games will still proceed.
This includes a new aquatic centre at Armstrong Creek, a six-court indoor stadium at Waurn Ponds, an upgraded Eureka Stadium at Ballarat and BMX trails in Shepparton.
And the government will commit an additional $1bn to deliver more than 1300 new homes across regional Victoria.
The new homes will include a mix of social and affordable housing.
Disappointment over ‘eight hours’ notice’
A Commonwealth Games Federation spokesman said the organisation was “disappointed” they were only given eight hours’ notice about the decision.
“We were informed today that the Victorian government has walked away from their agreement to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games,” he said.
“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the government.
“Up until this point, the government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“We are taking advice on the options available to us and remain committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026 that is in the best interest of our athletes and the wider Commonwealth Sport Movement.”
The spokesman said the Victorian government chose a “unique regional” model, which contributed to the cost blowout.
“The reasons given are financial. The numbers quoted to us today of $6bn are 50 per cent more than those advised to the organising committee board at its meeting in June,” he said.
“These figures are attributed to price escalation primarily due to the unique regional delivery model that Victoria chose for these Games, and in particular relate to village and venue builds and transport infrastructure.
“Since awarding Victoria the Games, the government has made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia.”
Asked if the decision to cancel the games was embarrassing for Australia, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said the decision was made by the state government.
“I’ll leave the Victorian government to go through those details,” Mr Albanese said.
“I’m certainly focused on a sporting event that will happen in two days time with the Matildas and I think that the whole of Australia will be cheering them on with the opportunity that we have of hosting a World Cup here.
“The World Cup is the third largest sporting event held in the world, only beaten by the men’s football World Cup and the Olympic Games, and we’re hosting it.
“We’re hosting the Olympics in southeast Queensland of course in 2032 and Australia has a fine record of hosting events.”
Treasurer Jim Chalmers said it was disappointing but the federal government did understand that when you signed up for big events, such as the Commonwealth Games, it did have to be a good investment.
“You have to get value for money,” he said.
Mr Andrews said the Commonwealth was told on Tuesday morning.
He rejected suggestions his decision was based on the Commonwealth’s willingness to stump up cash.
He said he would not be prepared to greenlight the event, even if the Prime Minister did agree to pay half.
“If there’s money available out of Canberra, then it won’t be spent on a $6bn or $7bn Commonwealth Games, it’ll be spent in hospitals, schools, road and rail, and all manner of other things,” Mr Andrews said.
Decision to axe Games a ‘massive humiliation’
But Opposition Leader John Pesutto said the decision was a “massive humiliation”.
“This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts,” he said.
“The cancellation of the Commonwealth Games is hugely damaging to Victoria’s reputation as a global events leader.
“Instead of a lasting legacy of housing, sporting and community infrastructure, Daniel Andrews and Jacinta Allan’s botched Games will only leave a legacy of failure and missed opportunities.
“Labor simply cannot be believed any longer as it continues to break promises because of its own incompetence.”
Bruce McAvaney told 3AW the cancellation so close to the event was an embarrassment for Victoria on an international stage, and a risk to the future of the event.
“This is a huge challenge now for its (Commonwealth Games) future, and from Australia’s point of view and Victoria’s point of view ... for it to be (cancelled) so late ... it is an embarrassment.”
“This is incredibly challenging for an event that I think has been a big part of Australian sporting history and some of our greatest performances. Raelene Boyle’s last race, Robert De Castella in Brisbane, Cathy Freeman’s first gold medal, the list goes on and on and on.”
A federal government spokeswoman said it was “disappointing news” for our athletes and coaches, sport fans in Australia and especially Victoria.
“Ultimately, our sporting events have to be good investments that provide value for money and lasting benefits to the community,” she said.
“This is a decision Victoria has made after considering all the facts and we understand their decision.
“And again, this is disappointing, but we still have 17 major events on the green and gold runway, which include four women’s World Cups in five years.”
The state government signed up to host the Commonwealth Games without funding commitments from the federal government, which is understood to have been willing to work with them in good faith.
This included an in-principle agreement to standard major event provisions, such as visas and security.
Broader support was sought from the Commonwealth by the Victorian government.
However, it did not include any additional funding for the games in its May federal budget.
‘No project safe from the axe’
Opposition infrastructure spokeswoman Bridget McKenzie said the state government’s financial mismanagement had burnt more than 100 years of work to make Victoria recognised as a global sporting capital.
Senator McKenzie said the whole world now knew a contract with Labor was not worth the paper it was written on.
“Today’s announcement shows no project in Victoria is safe from the axe, no matter how many times the Premier has said it will go ahead,” she said.
“Victoria’s regional cities were told they would be promoted on the world stage and now they have become a global embarrassment.
“Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland have proud sporting traditions and we cannot allow the reputations of those communities to be trashed by Labor.”
Opposition sport spokeswoman Anne Ruston said the incredibly disappointing announcement was “further proof that Labor just can’t manage money”.
“Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has failed to stand up for Australian athletes and future generations of Australians who would have been the main beneficiaries of Australia hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games,” Senator Ruston said.
“Instead he has stood by and watched his mate Dan Andrews trash Australia’s international reputation.
“The Prime Minister has failed to show any leadership over the Victorian government’s mismanagement of this significant sporting event.”
Senator Ruston slammed Mr Andrews for dismissing the announcement as “not a difficult decision”, saying it flies in the face of the athletes, international sporting reputation, and the regional communities that would have benefited from the benefits.
She said her thoughts were with Australia’s athletes, who had worked hard to be able to pull on their green and gold to compete on home soil.
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport and Events Sam Groth has slammed the government’s decision.
“The Premier, Deputy Premier and the Andrews Labor government has failed regional Victoria,” he said.
“It’s embarrassing and is hugely damaging to our international reputation as a global events leader.
“Labor cannot be believed any longer as it continues to break its promises,
“Labor simply cannot be believed any longer as it continues to break promises because of its own incompetence.
“Victoria is broke and Victorians continue to be punished by a tired, corrupt and incompetent government”.
Victorian Tourism Industry Council chief executive Felicia Mariani said the cancellation posed a massive reputational risk for the state.
Ms Mariani said that while the cancellation of the Games was disappointing, it was no surprise.
“With the plans to host these Games in five regions across the state, this project faced many challenges from the outset,” she said.
“The host regions will suffer, not just from the visitors they expected to welcome in this period, but also the global exposure they expected to receive.
“The biggest risk right now for Victoria will be in managing the reputational fallout as a destination for hosting major international events.
“Pulling the pin at such a crucial time on a major event like this will create concern that needs to be managed carefully.”
Head of Australian Industry Group’s Victoria Branch Tim Piper said “this is huge reputation damage for a state that markets itself as the events capital of Australia”.
“For this to occur is going to be very difficult pill to swallow for those that continue to pursue events for our city in the future,” he said.
“The cost blowout should have been foreseen earlier, and to be honest, when we heard the $2.3bn figure initially we thought it was way below what it was likely to cost, especially when trying to run them in regional Victoria in four different spots.”
He added that regional businesses would be among the companies that would lose out with some having spent money in preparation for tenders, which will need to be compensated.
“Just preparing tenders themselves is an expensive procedure,” he said.
Decision ‘flawed from the start’
A Monash University sports academic says the decision to base a Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria was “flawed from the start”, only serving to highlight their diminishing importance on the world stage.
“Melbourne is no longer the sporting capital of the world. It may not even be the nation’s sporting capital anymore ... this venture was flawed from the start,” Dr Tom Heenan said.
“Adding salt to the state’s wounds, the cancellation coincides with the start of the Women’s World Cup.
“In the most significant sporting event since the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Melbourne is a bit-player to Sydney and Brisbane. This embarrassing fact, along with the Commonwealth Games’ cancellation, suggests that the self-proclaimed sporting capital has lost its mantle to its northern neighbours.”
The scathing indictment came as political pundits said abandoning the games was a “risky” political move for Premier Daniel Andrews.
Monash University senior politics lecturer Dr Zareh Ghazarian said the decision had gifted the battling Victorian Liberal Party an unparalleled opportunity to “attack the government”.
“Daniel Andrews has taken a politically risky decision to cancel the Commonwealth Games,” Dr Ghazarian said.
“Politically, the cancellation of the Games may just be the circuit breaker that the opposition needed to focus more on the performance of the government, rather than its internal divisions.”
Australian Sports Commission chief executive Kieren Perkins said it was a difficult day for many in the sporting community and it had offered mental health support to all those affected.
“For many of our athletes, coaches and support staff, Victoria 2026 was going to be an important stepping stone ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games, and for others it was to be the pinnacle of their careers,” Perkins said.
“It is also the only peak event where para and able-bodied athletes compete side by side.
“The impact of this in promoting inclusivity in sport and the wider community cannot be understated.”
Disappointment across regions
Deakin MP Michael Sukkar on Tuesday said: “Now that Daniel Andrews had cancelled the 2026 Commonwealth Games, because they had bankrupted the state, he should resign”.
“The question now is: does Anthony Albanese still stand by his socialist left ally and former housemate to remain Premier?”
It comes after mounting speculation that the 2026 Games, which were due to be held across regional Victoria, would face significant changes.
Gary Gibson, who runs the Oval Hotel Bendigo, said he had already had inquiries from numerous English teams looking for accommodation during the Games and was disappointed it would no longer go ahead.
“Oh look, it was just going to be huge. The lead-up to it was going to be fantastic,” Mr Gibson said.
“The English team was looking for accommodation two or three months ago, they wanted to book the whole motel,” he said.
The hotel manager said it was a shame to miss out on the local business but they will just have to “go on as normal”.
“It would have been a bonus really having the Commonwealth Games, it would have been an absolute bonus,” Mr Gibson said.
Deputy Prime Minister and Corio MP Richard Marles said it was a disappointing outcome for regional Victoria and in particular for Geelong.
“The state government has made this decision, and we have to respect that,” he said.
“The Victorian government has said that there are still a number of benefits for greater Geelong. I welcome that, and I will be talking with them to make sure these are realised.”
Greater Shepparton Mayor Shane Sali said his community had been left “in shock and disbelief”.
“There was no sign of this happening whatsoever,” he told the Herald Sun.
“I acknowledge that this was going to be a costly activation, but that was something that the government seemed to be really committed to.
“It’s hard to believe that $5bn possible cost increases is what the government would have been facing.”
Shepparton had been announced as the fifth hosting city and was preparing to hold a suite of cycling events and BMX Racing competitions.
Mr Sali said Jeroen Weimar, CEO of the 2026 Commonwealth Games Organising Committee, had visited just two weeks ago and “was super excited to be further showcasing what’s going to be happening”.
Mr Sali said the Games were supposed to expose local businesses “to a global audience or take them from regional businesses to global businesses”.
“It was going to offer opportunities for regional businesses to tender for security, catering, transport, logistics. They were the real things that the community was heavily interested in.”
It’s disappointing that we won’t see any international event take place in regional Victoria, which is what the priority was. We wanted to get away from the standard events always taking place in Metro Melbourne.”
Mr Sali said he was now focused on ensuring the government’s $2bn support package for regional Victoria covers the cost of building a brand new Shepparton Sports and Events Stadium, noting the current building was built in the 1970s.
“We need to make sure that we’re not waiting for the state government to come and tap us on the shoulder. I’ll be patting them on the shoulder to say this is where we want the investment to go,” he said.
However, Wendouree MP Juliana Addison said it was the prudent choice while Victorians struggled with the cost of living, interest rates, and housing affordability.
“I truly do believe that it is the right decision to not proceed with the Commonwealth Games given the cost,” she said.
“In the current economic circumstances the price tag of more than $6bn for 12 days of athletic competition is a lot of money.”
Ms Addison said the infrastructure still to be built, including 5000 additional seats at Ballarat’s Eureka Stadium, an upgrade of the city’s train station, mountain bike trails in Creswick, and sporting facilities at Miners Rest, remained “so significant”.
She said new sports facilities would allow Ballarat to continue to nurture “great champions” like Steve Moneghetti.
In lieu of the Games, 1300 new homes will be built across regional Victoria, including in Ballarat.
A tourism fund of $150m will also be available in Ballarat to encourage events and attractions to the city.
Ms Addison said the community could now determine how to best use the “prized location” of the former saleyards on Latrobe St, where athletes were going to be accommodated.
With additional reporting by Carly Douglas, Sam McNeill, Alex White, Timothy Cox, Mandy Squires, Julieanne Strachan
Originally published as Daniel Andrews reveals Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games will not go ahead
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