The hosting rights of Commonwealth Games 2026 had been awarded to Victoria, Australia. However, Australia has decided against hosting the mega event. The state of Victoria is no longer interested in hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected cost overruns.
Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said his government had agreed to host the tournament last year ‘but not at any cost’. On the other hand, media reports claim that India will host the multi-discipline sports event and it may be held in Ahmedabad.
According to reports, Ahmedabad will host the Commonwealth Games 2026 as part of its preparations for bidding for the 2036 Olympics.
The Gujarat government has started creating infrastructure in Ahmedabad ahead of its bid to host the 2036 Olympic Games. Officials in the state government have indicated that it may bid for Ahmedabad to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Gujarat government officials told the media that the state administration was preparing Ahmedabad to bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games, but is now looking at 2026. It is expected that the central government will support Gujarat’s bid to host the Commonwealth Games 2026.
Recently, Australia-based business planning consultancy Populous was hired to prepare a master-plan for Ahmedabad’s bid for the Olympics. The Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Sports Enclave will be developed with facilities to play various Olympic sports, as Ahmedabad bids to host the 2036 Olympics.
Andrews said his government had initially budgeted 2.6 billion Australian dollars (1.8 billion US dollars) to host the Games in five cities, but recent estimates put the potential cost at 7 billion Australian dollars (4.8 billion US dollars). 800 million US dollars). Andrews said he had informed Commonwealth Games organizers of his government’s decision to withdraw from the hosting contract.
“Today is not about finding fault with those spending estimates. 6 to 7 billion Australian dollars for a 12-day sporting event, we are not doing this – there is no point in spending this money, it is just expense and no benefit,” Andrews said.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said in a statement that the increase in estimated costs was mainly due to the regional, multi-city host model and the Victorian Government’s decision to change the venue plan and include more sports.
“We are disappointed that we were given only 8 hours’ notice and no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find a solution before the government reaches this decision,” the CGF statement said.
The Commonwealth Games 2026 was initially scheduled to be held in the Australian cities of Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.
