$589 Million: Huge Cost of Cancelling Melbourne Commonwealth Games Revealed

Abandoning the Games cost more than $589 million, the state’s Auditor General said.

Flag Bearers of Team Nauru lead the team out during the Opening Ceremony of the 2023 Youth Commonwealth Games at Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad And Tobago, on Aug. 4, 2023. Jamie Squire/Getty Images for Commonwealth Sport

A new report published by Victoria’s Auditor General’s Office says a lack of communication and inter-agency cooperation was behind the state government wasting hundreds of millions of dollars from withdrawing as host for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The 2026 games are currently without a host after Victoria decided to withdraw on July 18, 2023, with the decision highlighting the challenges and complexities involved in hosting large-scale sporting events in the current economic climate.