New May deadline to replace cancelled 2026 Victoria Commonwealth Games

Commonwealth Games bosses have just weeks to find a city to host the 2026 Games despite new report showing Birmingham 2022 ran under-budget and boosted British economy by A$2.4bn.

Gold Medallists Team Australia celebrate during the Netball Medal Ceremony on day ten of the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at NEC Arena. Picture: Getty Images.

Embattled Commonwealth Games officials have received a fillip in their desperate bid to find a new host for the 2026 Games following the shock withdrawal of Victoria, with an independent report showing the 2022 Birmingham Games contributed a A$2.4billion economic boost to Britain.

Commonwealth Games officials say they are expecting to be able to confirm a new host to replace Victoria by next month although both Malaysia and Singapore have recently withdrawn their interest.

Katie Sadleir, Commonwealth Games federation chief executive said in Birmingham that the process of finding a new host was “continuing at pace with interested associations’’ and that she was very confident of being able to replace Victoria.

In 2023 the Dan Andrews government suddenly cancelled the Victorian Commonwealth Games, which was to have centred around regional towns, claiming a massive cost overrun of $6.9bn, a figure later described as “overstated” but the state auditor general.

Ms Sadleir told the BBC that athletes needed to know their competition options after the Paris Olympics ‘’the sooner we make the decision is the better’’. She added that stretching beyond the end of this May would be “very problematic”.

On Monday the British government’s Department of Culture, Media and Sport released a commissioned report which showed the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, which ran from July 28 to August 8, 2022 contributed almost £1.2 billion to the UK economy, as well as accelerating planned capital investment.

The report says the British government had contributed £778 million which was on top of £120 million of commercial income for the running of the Games.

As well another £85 million was raised for broader legacy impacts.

The Games saw not only a growth in the economy, the creation of new jobs, but upgraded community facilities and a budget surplus of £70m. This was despite a shortened preparation period, Brexit, the Covid-19 pandemic and associated challenges of construction delays and increased supply chain costs.

Half of the economic benefit was found in the West Midlands area and that the Games had stimulated the equivalent of 22,380 full time years of employment the report says.

In comparison the Victorian government’s auditor general had found that the scrapping of the 2026 Games had been a waste of more than $589m of taxpayer money with no discernible benefit.

UK Sports Minister, Stuart Andrew told the gathering of sports leaders at the sports business summit SportAccord: “Hosting major sporting events in this country boosts growth, creates jobs and has a lasting social impact for communities.”

He added: “With over 1.5 million tickets sold, the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games was a record-breaking event that is still having a positive impact on the region two years on.”