Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2026: Tate’s vision and timeline
Mayor Tom Tate says the Gold Coast is still “Games ready” and he is confident the city can stage the Commonwealth’s biggest sporting event in 2026.
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Mayor Tom Tate says the Gold Coast is still “Games ready” and he is confident the city can stage the Commonwealth event.
Mr Tate met with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday during Community Cabinet on the Gold Coast.
But he did not speak about that private meeting at a full council meeting on Tuesday due to confidentiality reasons.
Outside the meeting, he said the final decision would be with the federal government after the Victorian Government broke its contract to stage the Games and now faced a compensation bill.
“If it’s a huge payout figure, huge meaning $500 million pounds, well who is footing that? If it’s the federal government why not give us (that money), meaning the Queensland Government and negotiate so the Commonwealth (Games) still continues,” Mr Tate said.
“As a city I’m still confident we can do it. It has to start with the Federal Government.”
The Mayor conceded Ms Palaszczuk’s focus remained with the 2032 Olympic Games.
“It’s fair enough, when the federal government is up in the air that she’s not entertaining it,” he said.
Asked if he was confident the Coast could secure the event, he replied: “Each time I get information, its not clear cut. This will end up playing it out in court. All I know from a Gold Coast point of view, we are Games ready, I still maintain that.”
The view of councillors on staging the Commonwealth Games remained mixed.
Experienced councillor William Owen-Jones on his Facebook page gave a big “no” to hosting the event, noting the most recent budget had no funds for the event.
But Southport councillor Brooke Patterson on her Facebook page told residents she was
supportive.
“If we have all the sports centres built and can (sic) received the federal funding we should save Commonwealth Games,” she wrote.
“We can fast track public housing build which could be a games village then converted to affordable housing.”
Athletics Australia on the weekend backed the Mayor’s push to bring the Commonwealth Games back to the Coast.
The Mayor shocked political leaders late last week when he called for the city to host the 2026 Games after Victorian Premier Dan Andrews abandoned the event.
Two days earlier, Acting Mayor Donna Gates said it was “ludicrous” to expect her city to pick up the Commonwealth Games baton dropped by Victoria “with just a couple of years to go”.
She said cost-of-living pressures was the major focus of all levels of government, including local councils.
While Mr Tate was backed by the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce, few others were supportive. An online poll of 9200 Gold Coast Bulletin and Courier-Mail readers showed 55 per cent in favour of hosting the 2026 Games here.
Mr Tate was a no-show at an event on Saturday to promote the 2032 southeast Queensland Olympics. Premier Palaszczuk repeated that there was no chance the Coast could host the Games.
“Everyone shares Tom’s enthusiasm for the Gold Coast and he is very passionate about this city and the opportunities for this city,” she said.
“However, there is no appetite in the state government or the federal government to do another Commonwealth Games here.
“We are 100 per cent focused on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“It is absolutely not possible (to stage the 2026 Commonwealth Games).”
‘Exceptional quality’: Support grows for Gold Coast 2026
GamesAthletics Australia has backed Mayor Tom Tate’s push to bring the Commonwealth Games to the Gold Coast.
The Mayor shocked political leaders late last week when he called for the city to host the 2026 Games after Victorian Premier Dan Andrews abandoned the event.
While he was backed by the Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce, few others were supportive.
However, Athletics Australia CEO Peter Bromley and Athletics Australia president Jan Swinhoe, said the Gold Coast was the perfect the location for the 2026 event.
“As witnessed in 2018, the Gold Coast demonstrated its remarkable ability to host a Games of exceptional quality, and one that left a profound impact on Australian sport,” they said in a statement.
“With an opportunity to make an impact on athletes aiming for the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games, we firmly believe that the city is in a unique position to step forward and preserve the spirit of the Commonwealth Games.”
It comes after Mr Tate was a no-show at an event on Saturday to promote the 2032 southeast Queensland Olympics.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk again reiterated that there was no chance the Gold Coast could host the games.
The Premier said she had not spoken to Mr Tate since he announced his play for the Commonwealth Games, but she emphatically shot down the proposal.
“Everyone shares Tom’s enthusiasm for the Gold Coast and he is very passionate about this city and the opportunities for this city,” she said.
“However, there is no appetite in the state government or the federal government to do another Commonwealth Games here.
“We are 100 per cent focused on the Olympic and Paralympic Games.
“It is absolutely not possible (to stage the 2026 Commonwealth Games).”
Sport Minister Stirling Hinchliffe echoed Ms Palaszczuk’s comments.
“I was with Tom Tate on the Gold Coast yesterday (Friday) and made it clear to him that we’ve got a really amazing event, a global event these Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2032 that were 100 per cent concentrated on,” he said.
“Frankly I agree with the Deputy Mayor Donna Gates on the Gold Coast where she said earlier on Tuesday that the idea of trying to pick up the games was ludicrous.
“She said quite sensibly that it’s too late for us to try and pick up the pieces and pull this all together.
“I understand Tom’s enthusiasm, he’s always been a great booster for the Gold Coast but I said to him directly that this isn’t on.”
The GC-Brisbane 2026 Comm Games: events, timeline and vision
Gold Coast Mayor Tom Tate is adamant the Gold Coast can pull off hosting a regional 2026 Commonwealth Games – despite Queensland state leaders pouring cold water on it.
The bullish third-term mayor has elaborated on his vision for a Glitter Strip Games to pick up the baton after Victorian Premier Dan Andrews sensationally axed hosting it in 2026.
The Gold Coast would host the swimming, freestyle BMX and hockey in a regional bid, Mr Tate said, adding Brisbane would also host “three or four sports” with the rest in Ipswich, Noosa and Moreton.
Given the Gold Coast’s 2018 Commonwealth Games athlete village at Parklands, Southport, is now a low-cost residential rental community, Mr Tate said the Gold Coast could put athletes up in hotels.
A Gold Coast bid required Federal Government to stump up financial support – and once he gets that green light it will take “four weeks for us to put a presentation together”, he said.
His vision is doing little to convince Queensland Tourism Minister Stirling Hinchcliffe who backed his Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk this week ruling out southeast Queensland hosting.
Mr Hinchcliffe told Gold Coast’s 92.5 Triple M this morning he admired Mr Tate’s passion but agreed with deputy mayor Donna Gates who said earlier this week it would be “ludicrous” for the Glitter Strip to bid for the Games less than three years out.
“It’s all a bit too late for us to pick this up,” Mr Hinchcliffe said.
Mr Hinchliffe said the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast laid a platform to secure the “main game” – the 2032 Olympics and Paralympics.
“It’s a completely different event and that’s where our focus is, 100 per cent,” he said.
“The 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games will go well beyond what we were able to achieve with the 2018 Games in terms of profiling the Gold Coast and profiling the whole of the state.
“This is all a bit too late for 2026.”
An online Gold Coast Bulletin-Courier Mail readers poll is currently running at 68 per cent in favour of the Gold Coast hosting the Games.
In an illuminating column running in the Gold Coast Bulletin on Saturday, Mr Tate says he can see the Gold Coast hosting the 2026 event, eight years after it successfully hosted the 2018 Games.
It reveals he has already “put forward a proposal for the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to consider”.
“When situations like this occur, I like to take a pragmatic approach rather than throwing my toys out the cot like Victorian Premier Dan Andrews has.
“This week, I’ve put forward a proposal for the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to consider. That is: why not use this as an opportunity to make 2026 a regional Commonwealth Games, spread across southeast Queensland.
“For example, our city could host swimming, freestyle BMX and hockey at our venues which are already at Games-standard.
“Brisbane may host three or four sports, Ipswich could use its facilities for select sports and Noosa and Moreton could take on their share.
“That way, 2026 is not a write-off and the various host cities and regions get to use, or in some cases, upgrade their venues. It’s a win-win for me I’m keen to hear the CGF’s view.”
The Bulletin asked the CGF if it would be keen to see the Games held on the Gold Coast and if any talks had been held.
In a statement, the CGF replied: “Our immediate focus is on negotiating our exit from the contract with the Victorian Government. We will have more to say once this work concludes.”
Standing beside Mayor Tate on the Gold Coast on Friday to support the National Basketball League announcing it would hold its pre-season fixtures on the Glitter Strip, Mr Hinchcliffe continued to be unmoved about a Gold Coast Commonwealth Games in 2026.
“I understand Tom’s enthusiasm. Tom’s enthusiasm is hard to repress, he is always out there making sure that he is boosting and spruiking the Gold Coast and why wouldn’t he?
“We understand that and it’s no problem at all. But the reality is, I’m a bit more in deputy mayor Donna Gates’ camp when she said earlier this week that the idea was ludicrous, we didn’t have the right amount of time. That is really where we are at this time.
Gold Coast Central Chamber of Commerce president Martin Hall has back a Gold Coast 2026 Games saying it was a great economic opportunity and solution to social housing.
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