The state of Victoria has entered into exclusive negotiations with the Commonwealth Games Foundation (CGF) to host the 2026 edition of the sports event. Victoria’s Prime Minister Daniel Andrews made this announcement on Tuesday evening. It will be the 23th edition of the major sports event. PM Andrews mentioned that, if Victoria is awarded the event, they will organise the event in many different parts of the state: this in contrast to the 2018 edition in Queensland (Australia) and the 2006 Commonwealth Games, which were hosted in Victoria’s biggest city, Melbourne.
In October 2021, the CGF published their 2026/30 Strategic Roadmap in which they provided future hosts with “renewed flexibility to be innovative and creative in delivering the Games”. The Roadmap explains how countries can host the games in a time when it is harder to find possible host-countries due to rising costs of organising the event. Furthermore, the number of sports included in the Games will be cut to 15, and only two of them, athletics and swimming, will be mandatory. The others will be drawn from a long list of core sports, or be local events selected because of their popularity in the host nation.
The CGF has been in discussions with multiple countries across the Commonwealth regarding hosting the 2026 Games. Perth withdrew from the process earlier this year, with the Western Australian government citing the uncertainty posed by the Covid-19 pandemic and at least $1bn of investment required to establish the required infrastructure. Kuala Lumpur, Cardiff, Calgary, Edmonton and Adelaide had all earlier withdrawn from proposed bids.
Commonwealth Games Federation President Dame Louise Martin DBE said: “We are pleased to have entered into an exclusive dialogue with Victoria and Commonwealth Games Australia to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Following months of positive discussions, it is clear that Victoria has an exciting vision for a future Games which will provide many benefits for the community whilst leaving a significant legacy for the state. This vision is aligned with our 2026/30 Strategic Roadmap, which has proved to be a catalyst for positive and exciting conversations on how our event will look in four years’ time. Victoria is one of the world’s greatest sporting States and there is no doubt it has the venues, infrastructure, and people to stage a world class edition of the Games”.