Commonwealth Games Federation calls Victoria’s 2026 exit ‘hugely disappointing’

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has stated the Victorian state authorities’s determination to withdraw as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games is “hugely disappointing”.

The CGF stated in an announcement it was given solely eight hours’ discover of the choice, which was introduced by Victoria’s state premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday morning.

Mr Andrews instructed media in Melbourne the unique funds for the video games was estimated to be round 2.6 billion {dollars} (£1.3 billion) however had ballooned out to just about triple that.

He stated: “Last yr when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and wanted somebody to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we have been completely satisfied to assist out, however in fact not at any worth.

“I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them.

“It’s just quite obvious, we are not going to spend six to seven billion dollars on a 12-day sporting event.

“We don’t just make popular decisions, we do what’s right and it would simply be wrong.”

The CGF responded by saying it was greatly surprised by the announcement.

It stated in an announcement: “This is hugely disappointing for the Commonwealth Sport Movement, for athletes around the Commonwealth and the Organising Committee who are well advanced in their planning and preparation.

“The reasons given are financial. The numbers quoted to us today of 6 billion dollars are 50% more than those advised to the Organising Committee board at its meeting in June.

“These figures are attributed to price escalation primarily due to the unique regional delivery model that Victoria chose for these Games, and in particular relate to village and venue builds and transport infrastructure.”

The 2026 Commonwealth Games have been set to be held in regional Victoria throughout cities like Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.

The CGF assertion continued: “Since awarding Victoria the Games, the Government has made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).

“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the Government.

“Up until this point, the Government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.”

Mr Andrews stated the estimates have been “clearly under the actual cost”, and the state authorities is as an alternative going to make use of the cash budgeted to enhance sporting complexes and housing in regional Victoria.

The CGF stated it stays “committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026 that is in the best interest of our athletes and the wider Commonwealth Sport Movement”.

Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games 5 occasions, together with on the Gold Coast in 2018 and within the Victorian capital of Melbourne in 2006.