2026 Commonwealth Games

The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games, is a planned multi-sport event for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. The 2026 Commonwealth Games would be the first to be held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth on 8 September 2022.

XXIII Commonwealth Games

Host	TBA
Nations	74 Commonwealth countries and dependent territories (expected)
Athletes	5,000 (estimated)
Events	TBD in 21 sports
← XXII XXIV →

The games are currently without a host. The Australian state of Victoria was initially announced as the host in April 2022,^[1] after two months of an exclusive dialogue process with the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).^[2][3] However, on 18 July 2023 the Victorian state government announced it had cancelled its plans to host the games, citing an escalation in its cost projections relative to initial estimations.^[4][5][6]

Host selection

Further information: Bids for the 2026 Commonwealth Games and Victoria bid for the 2026 Commonwealth Games

During the CGF General Assembly on 31 March 2017 in Gold Coast, after the troubled 2022 Commonwealth Games host city bid process, the executive board announced that it had planned to award both 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games simultaneously at the CGF General Assembly scheduled for Kigali, Rwanda in September 2019. A new model called CGF Partnerships (CGFP) was implemented which aimed to give stronger support to the associations and cities that show interests in hosting future Games, and enhance the overall value of the event. This is similar to the process used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2017.^[7][8]

In 2015 the South African city of Durban originally won the rights to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but was stripped of this right in 2017 due to financial concerns.^[9][10] As a result, Birmingham moved up its planned Games from 2026 to 2022.^[11] This left the 2026 Games without a host and bids from Kuala Lumpur, Cardiff, Calgary, Edmonton and Adelaide were all withdrawn due to concerns over costs, with a hosting decision not made by the Commonwealth Games Federation between 2019 and 2022.^[11]

In January 2022 the Victorian State Government announced it was giving serious consideration to a late request from the CGF to host the Games. On 16 February 2022, Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews confirmed that the state was in exclusive negotiations with the CGF to host the Games.^[12] It was stated that if successful in hosting the Games a second time, a Victorian bid would aim to emphasise the state's regional centres—such as Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo—as opposed to being predominantly Melbourne-based, such as in 2006. Bendigo had previously hosted the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games. Acceptance of the bid would likely also be conditional upon agreement on ways to control costs, such as housing athletes and officials in hotels rather than a dedicated village.^[13][14] This bid was confirmed as successful on 12 April 2022.^[15]

On 18 July 2023, Andrews and Deputy Premier Jacinta Allan announced the state government intended to cancel the 2026 Victorian Games.^[4][6] Fifteen months after agreeing to host the Games, the Premier said the cost had escalated to an estimated A$6–7 billion, double the estimated economic benefits for the state, and the government could not justify the expense.^[16] The state said it would terminate its host agreement with the Commonwealth Games Federation and seek a settlement of the contract.^[5] The withdrawal prompted a new search for a host for the 2026 Games.^[17]

The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan subsequently said he was "ready" to support a bid for London to replace Victoria as the host.^[18] Scottish First Minister Humza Yousaf has also stated that he is "willing to consider proposals" for Scotland to host at least some of the events at the Games.^[19]

On 4 December 2023, the Gold Coast ruled itself out of hosting the games.^[20] On the same day the British government confirmed that there would be "No UK rescue" for the games and that they would not be hosted in the United Kingdom, citing that there is no financial appetite, or any preliminary planning in place, to allow another British city to intervene again after Birmingham 2022.^[21]

2026 Commonwealth Games bidding results

City / region	Nation	Votes
Victoria	Australia	Unanimous (2022) Withdrew (2023)

Broadcasting

•   New Zealand – Prime, Sky Television^[22]

See also

• 2023 Jeux de la Francophonie - initial host also backed out due to cost estimates

References

1. "Games-Australian state to be confirmed 2026 Commonwealth Games host -report". Devdiscourse. 12 April 2022. from the original on 11 April 2022.
2. Commonwealth Games set for Victoria, Australia, in 2026, from BBCSport.com
3. "CGF confirm Victoria, Australia as host of 2026 Commonwealth Games". CGF.com. 11 April 2022.
4. "Commonwealth Games: 2026 event in doubt after Victoria cancels". BBC News. 17 July 2023. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
5. "Commonwealth Games Costs Too High At Over $6 Billion | Premier of Victoria". www.premier.vic.gov.au. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
6. Karp, Paul; Kelly, Cait; Ore, Adeshola (18 July 2023). "Australia Commonwealth Games 2026: Victoria cancels event after costs blow out to $7bn". The Guardian. Retrieved 17 July 2023.
7. "Resurgent Commonwealth agrees to begin the process of selecting 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games Host Cities". Commonwealth Games Federation. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
8. "Bid process for 2026 Commonwealth Games officially launched". 31 March 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
9. "Durban in South Africa confirmed as 2022 Commonwealth Games host". The Guardian. 2 September 2015. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
10. "Durban loses right to host 2022 Commonwealth Games". ABC News. 13 March 2017. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
11. Yerushalmy, Jonathan (18 July 2023). "Commonwealth Games 2026: why has Victoria pulled out and what happens now?". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
12. "Victoria likely to host 2026 Commonwealth Games as government enters exclusive negotiations". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Melbourne. 16 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2021.
13. Masters, Roy (19 January 2022). "Melbourne set to step into breach as 2026 Commonwealth Games host city". Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
14. "Victoria present bid to host 2026 Commonwealth Games, could include 22 sports". 15 March 2022.
15. "Regional Victoria to host 2026 Commonwealth Games". ABC News. 12 April 2022.
16. Boaz, Judd (18 July 2023). "Commonwealth Games cancelled in Victoria as government shrinks from $7b price tag". ABC News. Retrieved 18 July 2023.
17. Aarons, Ed (18 July 2023). "British Commonwealth Games bid encouraged after 2026 hosts withdraw". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
18. Gray, James. "London 'ready' to bid for 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria pulls out as host". i newspaper. Retrieved 19 July 2023.
19. "Humza Yousaf to 'explore' Scotland Commonwealth Games bid". BBC News. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 4 August 2023.
20. "Commonwealth Games: Gold Coast rules out hosting 2026 event". 4 December 2023. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
21. Ingle, Sean (4 December 2023). "No UK rescue for 2026 Commonwealth Games after Gold Coast withdrawal". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 8 December 2023.
22. "Sky TV Wins Broadcast Rights For 2022 And 2026 Commonwealth Games". Ministry of Sport. 12 November 2019. Retrieved 15 November 2019.

External links

Official website

• Victoria 2026 – Victorian Government
• Official Twitter handle