Big change planned for 2026 school holidays

School holiday dates could be changed in 2026 under a plan to get more people involved in the Commonwealth Games.

Changes are planned for the 2026 school holidays to accommodate the Commonwealth Games.

Work is underway to shift the March school holiday period in 2026 as part of a collective effort to get as many Victorians involved in the Commonwealth Games.

Acting Premier Jacinta Allan on Wednesday unveiled the official dates of the regional-led event, with competition to take place between March 17 and 29.

While the MCG has been secured for the opening ceremony, a venue for the closing ceremony is yet to be decided on.

With more than 1000 days before the start of the Games, authorities have started to plan logistics – and the potential impacts – that the March event will pose.

Ms Allan said the Education Minister of the day would hold the necessary powers to adjust the school holiday dates.

Conversations are also underway with the AFL, AFLW and the Formula One to ensure there are no clashes between events.

“We’ve done all this before,” Ms Allan said.

“We’ve got a really great template in the 2006 Commonwealth Games that Victoria hosted where we had to work through all of those challenges of accommodating (the AFL, Formula One and school term dates).

“All of that has been done before and I’m confident that can be done again.”

Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan says talks are underway to ensure there are no clashes with the AFL, AFLW and Grand Prix. Picture: David Geraghty

Up to five new sports could also be included in the 2026 agenda, with an expression of interest process opening on Wednesday.

That will take submissions from international sporting federations with support from recognised or affiliated Australian organisations.

The period for consideration on which sports should be added will close on August 19.

Already, 16 sports and six para sports are locked in for competition.

They include swimming, diving and gymnastics to be held in Geelong, athletics and boxing at Ballarat, cycling and netball in Bendigo, and cricket T20 and badminton in Gippsland.

Each major city will include a regional hub that boasts its own athletes’ village.

Jeroen Weimar has confirmed up to five new sports could be included at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Picture: David Geraghty

Games organising committee chief executive Jeroen Weimar, who up until recently was the state’s Covid commander, said organisers would draw inspiration from the upcoming Birmingham Games.

“There’s a number of interesting sports out there that are worth exploring,” he said.

“There are different (smaller) formats of some our favourite sports like netball and basketball, that would be quite interesting for us to explore.

“We’ve got some really good options to play with.”

Mr Weimar said while putting forward a “particularly Australian” sport would be great for local audiences, the code needed to ensure it had “good participation from across the Commonwealth”.

“As much as it’s good to have a homegrown sport … we want to ensure we get a traction and engagement from the entire Commonwealth,” he added.

Meanwhile, Opposition Leader Matthew Guy has vowed to scrap the planned MCG opening ceremony if the Coalition is elected at the November election.

Mr Guy said he would instead shift the start of the event to GMHBA Stadium in Geelong.

“It’s important we send the message at every turn that the regional games are for the regions.”

Mr Guy said Geelong is uniquely positioned to host a successful opening ceremony because it boasts “outstanding local tourism and hospitality sectors and the world-class stadium”.

“There is no better choice to kick off regional Victoria’s Commonwealth Games than in the largest stadium outside of Melbourne,” he added.

“If Daniel Andrews doesn’t re-think this decision, a Matthew Guy Liberals and Nationals government will relocate the Opening Ceremony to Geelong.”

Opposition sport spokeswoman Cindy McLeish said the Andrews government is missing a “golden opportunity”.

“Instead of launching the regional games in our capital city – let’s take this chance to put Geelong and all it has to offer on the world stage,” she said.