Australia's Victoria axes plan to host 2026 Commonwealth Games

The state government of Victoria in Australia on Tuesday announced that plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games have been cancelled, as costs will be 'too high' at over 6 billion Australian dollars (4 billion US dollars).

The Victoria government has advised the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia that the state will be terminating the Host Agreement, reports Xinhua.

"The main reason we agreed to host the Games was to deliver lasting benefits in housing, tourism and sporting infrastructure for regional Victoria," the state government noted in a statement.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on his social media that "more than 6 billion Australian dollars for a 12-day sporting event is just too high."

"It's more than twice the estimated economic benefit the Games would bring our state," said Andrews.

He revealed that instead of hosting the competition, the state will deliver a comprehensive 2 billion Australian dollars (1.4 billion US dollars) package for the development of regional Victoria.

"Locals have told us that more places to live and more places to stay across regional Victoria is what really matters - so that's exactly what we'll deliver," Andrews added.