Glasgow to host Commonwealth Games courtesy of Victoria
Glasgow is set to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after plans to host it in regional Victoria were cancelled by the Victorian Labor Government, with the Scottish Government approving a proposal to host the event.
The debacle has cost Victorians at least $600 million —including $380 million in cancellation fees –of which almost $200 million will be paid to Scotland to host the event, with the remaining costs to be met from ticketing and broadcast revenue.
The scaled down Games to be held in Glasgow will be 30-times cheaper than the Victorian government’s projected cost to host the Games.
In July last year, then Minister for Commonwealth Games Delivery, Jacinta Allan, abandoned the Games, claiming the estimated costs of hosting the event had soared from $2.6 billion to almost $7 billion.
In March this year, the Victorian Auditor-General’s Office (VAGO) found that this cost was ‘‘overstated and not transparent’’ and the flawed business case should have investigated the cost of hosting events in Melbourne or just one regional city, rather than across Victoria.
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport and Events, Sam Groth, said: “Victorians will have to pay more than $600 million not to host the Commonwealth Games, including $200 million to Scotland, when that money could have been used to host a scaled down event locally.
“Major event organisers will now be rightly questioning whether the Victorian Labor Government can be relied upon or whether their cost estimates can even be believed.
“Labor cannot manage money, cannot manage events and Victorians are paying the price”.
