Australia’s Victoria state withdraws as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games #Australias #Victoria #state #withdraws #host #Commonwealth #Games

MELBOURNE, Australia (AP) — Australia’s Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of a massive increase in the projected cost of staging the multi-sports event.

Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday said his government last year agreed to host the next edition of the quadrennial event “but not at any cost.”

He said his government had initially budgeted 2.6 billion Australian dollars ($1.8 billion) to stage the Games in five regional cities but recent estimates put the potential cost as high as 7 billion Australian dollars ($4.8 billion).

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Andrews told a news conference he’d notified Commonwealth Games organizers of his government’s decision to pull out of the hosting contract.

Victoria state hosted the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne. The last edition of the Games held in Australia was on the Gold Coast, Queensland state, in 2018. The Gold Coast is part of the southeast Queensland area that is scheduled to host events during the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.