'Absolutely embarrassing’: Commonwealth Games bosses hit out at Victoria as it withdraws as host

Australia’s Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of a blowout in projected costs, ITV News Sports Editor Steve Scott has the latest

Commonwealth Games bosses have said it is "absolutely embarrassing" that Victoria has withdrawn as 2026 host, after the city said it would cost double their estimated budget.

The Australian state's government initially budgeted 2.6 billion Australian dollars (£1.35 billion) to stage the Games in late March 2026 across five regional cities.

Its recent estimates put the cost at 7 billion Australian dollars (£3.65 billion) - but Commonwealth Games bosses say this is "a gross exaggeration".

The Commonwealth Games Federation said: “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."

“We are disappointed 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,” the CGF statement said.

Victoria Premier - the equivalent of a British council leader - Daniel Andrews said on Tuesday, his government agreed to host the multi-sports event, “but not at any cost”.

Mr Andrews has notified the Commonwealth Games organisers of the decision.

“Frankly, AU$6-AU$7 billion for a 12-day sporting event, we are not doing that - that does not represent value for money, that is all costs and no benefit," he said.

Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips delivered a stern response to the announcement and rejected the financial figures cited by Andrews.

Mr Phillips said: “The stated cost overruns in our opinion are a gross exaggeration and not reflective of the operation costs presented to the Victorian 2026 Organising Committee as recently as June this year.

“The Victorian Government willfully ignored recommendations to move events to purpose-built stadia in Melbourne and in fact remained wedded to expensive temporary venues in regional Victoria."

He added that the decision to scrap the games was “absolutely embarrassing”.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) put the higher-than-expected cost down to Victoria's decision to stage the event across multiple cities - Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.

It also said including extra events, a total of 20 sports and nine fully-integrated Para sports, added to the price.

The government's website had promoted Victoria 2026 as a showcase of “what makes the people of our state tick: our unity, our diversity, our sense of community, our welcoming attitude and our love of sport”.

It's the second time in a row that there has been issues with hosting the Commonwealth Games.

Birmingham stepped in late to host the 2022 Games in England to replace Durban, South Africa.

The city missed deadlines and struggled with financial problems, leading to it being stripped of its hosting duties.

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