The Victorian government has entered into exclusive negotiations to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in the state’s regions, trumping Tasmania’s recent bid to host the event.
Victoria’s premier, Daniel Andrews, announced a two-month exclusivity agreement was signed with the Commonwealth Games Federation on Tuesday night, with work now under way to assess the viability of hosting.
He said the government’s submission would focus on the state’s regions, rather than Melbourne, which most recently held the event in 2006.
“It’s not just about rerunning what was done back in 2006. Our vision is for this to be predominantly a regional Victorian event. It’s about taking this amazing competition across many, many different sports into regional cities and towns,” Andrews said on Wednesday.
He said it was too soon to know what time of year the event would take place, which sports would be included and which cities and towns would participate, although he noted athletics facilities were available in Ballarat, while Bendigo Basketball Stadium had been recently upgraded and Geelong had an aquatics centre and GMHBA Stadium.
“Our starting position is very strong but yes, there would need to be further investment made, and that’s how I’d see it – not as a cost but a massive investment, built by locals,” he said.
“Just think about the number of small- and medium-sized businesses, tradesmen and women working across regional Victoria, building the infrastructure that we need – and then that infrastructure is there as a lasting legacy.
“All of that makes perfect sense and all of it, I think, is more powerful the more further away from Melbourne you get.”
He said the Gold Coast region saw a net economic benefit of $2.5bn when it hosted the 2018 games.
The announcement follows reports the Commonwealth Games Federation was struggling to find a host for the 2026 games.
Durban, South Africa, was stripped of the right to stage the 2022 Commonwealth Games due to financial issues and was replaced by Birmingham, England, which was originally scheduled as 2026 host, leaving a vacancy.
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 Kuala Lumpur, Cardiff, Calgary, Edmonton and Adelaide had all earlier withdrawn from proposed bids.
Last week, Tasmania formally requested Hobart and Launceston be considered as host or co-host for the event.
Andrews, however, said the government’s bid was for Victoria “to the exclusion of all others”.
Tasmania’s premier, Peter Gutwein, said he was disappointed with Commonwealth Games Australia’s handling of the situation.
“The first I heard that they were exclusively dealing with Victoria was through the media. I have a meeting with Commonwealth Games Australia later this week and I will have further discussions with them then,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
Gutwein said he remained hopeful Tasmania could play a role in the 2026 games.
“We offer some great co-hosting options,’” he said.
Victoria Tourism Industry Council’s chief executive, Felicia Mariani, said hosting the 2026 games would “supercharge” the state’s visitor economy.
She said the Covid-19 pandemic had wiped nearly $20bn from visitor spend in the state.
“The implications of restrictions have decimated our tourism and events industry, which has truly emerged as the worst affected industry across the board,” Mariani said in a statement.
“Initiatives such as this are exactly what’s needed to rebuild, reimagine and re-engineer the enviable position we have built up over two decades as we established Victoria’s global profile.”
