Daniel Andrews cancels Victoria’s 2026 Commonwealth Games: Reasons why Shepparton, Gippsland, Ballarat, Geelong, Bendigo event will be scrapped

The Commonwealth Games due to be held in regional Victoria in 2026 have been cancelled by Premier Daniel Andrews.

The reason behind the shock move is down to the state’s money woes, with Victoria’s debt is forecast to be $135.4billion in 2024, rising to $171.4billion by 2026-27. 

The rights to host the 2026 event were awarded to regional Victoria last year after not one of the 70 countries in the Commonwealth Games Federation put their hand up.

In a dramatic press conference on Tuesday, Mr Andrews said:  ‘What’s become clear is the cost of hosting these games is not the $2.6billion which was allocated, it is at least $6billion or $7billion.’

‘I will not take money out of hospitals and schools in order to fund an event that is three times the cost as estimated and budgeted for last year.’ 

The Commonwealth Games due to be held in regional Victoria in 2026 have been cancelled by Premier Daniel Andrews (pictured) over the state’s money woes

The Games were set to be held from March 17 to 29 in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.

The Premier said ‘I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job – this is not one of them,’ and described the Commonwealth Games as ‘all cost, no benefit’.

‘We are not going to spend $6 to $7billion hosting a 12-day sporting event,’ he said. 

Mr Andrews added that ‘you have got to make a choice. 

‘Do you push on and deliver this at any cost, taking money out of hospitals, schools, roads, all manner of different things to pay for it or do you make the decision we’ve announced today.’ 

Promotional material for the Games said: ‘Victoria 2026 will showcase what makes the people of our state tick: our unity, our diversity, our sense of community, our welcoming attitude and our love of sport.’

Instead, they will not be happening. The Commonwealth Games has never been cancelled with the strict exception of during World War II. 

Team Australia pose with their medals after the men’s final hockey match at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, Monday, August 8, 2022

The Games were set to be held from March 17 to 29 in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton

Commonwealth Games staff were reportedly called in for an urgent meeting early on Tuesday.

There was an emergency meeting of the state government’s Expenditure Review Committee – senior ministers who discuss budget decisions – on Monday. The full proposal was taken to the Cabinet late last night.

Victorian Treasurer Tim Pallas had been seeking a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution from the federal government to pay for the Games. 

While Victoria will no longer host the games, the legacy infrastructure from them will still be built.

There will be $1b spent on more than 1300 new social and affordable housing homes across regional Victoria, $150 million will be spent on tourism and events and all of the permanent and upgraded sporting facilities planned will go ahead.