Scratched before the games even started. The Australian state of Victoria has pulled out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, blaming multibillion-dollar cost blowouts.
The Games were initially budgeted to cost A$2.6 billion (NZ$2.8b) but that's skyrocketed to A$7b (NZ$7.5b) and potentially beyond.
Tuesday's announcement by State Premier Daniel Andrews blindsided athletes, businesses and local mayors, and was a far cry from the enthusiasm he showed when Victoria took the hosting role just last year.
He now says the numbers simply do not add up.
“I’ve made a lot of difficult calls, a lot of very difficult decisions in this job - this is not one of them. Frankly, $6b, $7b for a sporting event, we are not doing that. That does not represent value for money, that is all cost and no benefit.
“I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost estimated and budgeted for last year.”
The announcement also came as a complete shock on this side of the Tasman, with New Zealand Olympic Committee CEO Nicki Nicol saying there were no signs of any problems.
"Definitely not and, and all the communication we've had from the Commonwealth Games Federation you know, right up to last month through the board meetings and meetings with Victorian government, have all been positive and consistent… so it has come as a shock."
She told Checkpoint the Victorian government's plan was quite different to previous hosts - spreading the events over the state, rather than having them all in one city - and required "significant investment in housing, transport and infrastructure".
Last year's Games in Birmingham, UK, she said cost "four to five times less than what the numbers are being quoted for Victoria" and showed the Games can be economically viable, yet still "vibrant and exciting".
New Zealand is putting together a bid for 2034. Nicol said there were no plans to bring that forward, and no fears the Commonwealth Games would soon cease to exist. Decisions on both 2030 and 2034 were not expected until 2025, with Canada and India both reportedly interested in hosting the former.
"We've still got a lot of time… we know the model can work," said Nicol. "We know there is a role for sport in the Commonwealth and the role that sport can play in the Commonwealth, so there are lots of positives that flow from there.
"We're just going to make sure that, you know, we focus on the right model for us and, and certainly I'm sure [the] Commonwealth Games Federation will be focused on that."
All other Australian state premiers have ruled out hosting the Games. Previous bids for 2026 from South Australia's Adelaide and cities around the globe including Kuala Lumpur, Cardiff, Calgary and Edmonton were scrapped due to cost fears.
