Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has this morning announced that the 2026 Commonwealth Games have been cancelled.
The event, scheduled to be held across areas of regional Victoria — including Shepparton — was initially estimated to cost about $2.6 billion but has already blown out to almost three times that, according to the premier.
“The Games will not proceed in Victoria in 2026,” Mr Andrews said in a press conference on Tuesday.
The rights to host the 2026 event were awarded to regional Victoria last year after Birmingham replaced South Africa's Durban as host of the 2022 games.
The Victorian government set aside $2.6 billion for the event, with Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland slated to host their own athlete's village and sport programs.
Treasurer Tim Pallas had been seeking a dollar-for-dollar matching contribution from the federal government.
Mr Andrews had repeatedly said the government wasn't interested in a re-run of the 2006 games in Melbourne.
In a joint statement, Victorian Liberal leader John Pesutto and Victorian Nationals leader Peter Walsh slammed the decision.
“The Andrews Government’s decision to scrap the 2026 Commonwealth Games is a massive humiliation for Victoria,” the Coalition leaders said.
“This decision is a betrayal of regional Victoria and confirms that Victoria is broke and Labor simply cannot manage major projects without huge cost blowouts.
“The cancellation of the Commonwealth Games is hugely damaging to Victoria’s reputation as a global events leader.”
- with AAP