Victorians could foot the bill for Glasgow to host 2026 Commonwealth Games
Scottish taxpayers would not pay a cent for the 2026 Commonwealth Games under an extraordinary new bid to host the event, with Victorian taxpayers instead handing over almost $200m to cover its cost. Carly Douglas and Shannon Deery
September 1, 2024 - 5:00AM
Sunday Herald Sun
Scottish taxpayers will not pay a cent for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with Victorians picking up the tab.
Almost $200 million of Victorian money will fund the Games, meaning there will be no need for any money from the Scottish government.
The proposal, which has been backed by the Commonwealth Games Federation, was revealed over the weekend.
In a statement, Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) boasted that “£100m-plus of the Victorian government’s money” – or about $194m – would cover almost the entire cost.
It has estimated that the event will cost £114m – about $220m – in total, with Victorian taxpayers forking out millions for city-shaping infrastructure 17,000 km away. When former Premier Daniel Andrews sensationally canned the Games in July last year, the state government was forced to hand over $380m in compensation to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF).
Former Victorian premier Daniel Andrews unexpectedly pulled the pin on hosting the 2026 Games in regional Victoria. Picture: Ian Currie
Event organisers said the almost $200m from the Victorian government would ensure the project “does not require – nor has CGS asked for – any underwriting from Scottish or UK governments”.
“Unique to this opportunity, the Games will be funded by private income rather than the public purse, with the majority of costs covered by the CGF, using money secured in a compensation negotiation with the Victorian government following their withdrawal as hosts in July 2023,” it read.
The statement said the rest of the cost would be covered through “commercial opportunities”.
The proposal is now sitting with the Scottish and UK governments for consideration.
Mr Andrews unexpectedly pulled out of hosting the major event in July last year, claiming the cost had blown out from $2.6bn to at least $6bn.
The shock announcement left the CGF scrambling to find a new host and demanding compensation from the Victorian government.
Chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland Ian Reid said the “£100m+ of inward investment” would account for five per cent of the overall inward investment into Scotland over the past year.
“To potentially turn down such a significant sum of money, which only serves to boost the Glasgow and Scottish economies and has been deliberately created not to rely on the public purse at a time of economic uncertainty, is – in our opinion – shortsighted,” he said.
CGF President Chris Jenkins has endorsed the proposal, saying Glasgow was “more than able to deliver a world-class event in such a short period of time”.
Mary Anne Monckton of Australia performing in the women's beam final during the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Picture: Carl Court / AFP
Shadow Minister for Tourism, Sport and Events Sam Groth said the Allan government had embarrassed Victoria on a global stage.
“Jacinta Allan spent $600m of taxpayer dollars cancelling the Commonwealth Games of which $200m will now go to funding those games in Scotland,” he said.
“If Scotland can host the games for less than half of what it cost to cancel them, you have to question this government’s ability to manage money.”
Mr Groth said a Victorian games should have been repurposed to use existing infrastructure when cost blowouts began to emerge.
“For a city and state that prides itself on being the sporting capital of the nation, we should have been able to host this event here.
“Instead Scotland is running it at a bargain price, and while their taxpayers won’t spend a cent, Victorian taxpayers will pick up the bill.”
Mr Groth said it was stunning that the Victorian funded event would provide over 5 per cent of Scotland’s annual capital investment.
In a damning report published in March, Victoria’s Auditor-General Andrew Greaves blamed a lack of due diligence for the games debacle.
Australia's Sally Pearson celebrates after winning gold in the women's 100m hurdles final at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. Picture: AAP
Mr Greaves also cast doubt over government claims of a cost blowout to almost $7bn, saying the figure was overstated by $2.1bn.
And he said government guidelines that stipulated a business case should include analysis of different options to deliver a project were ignored.
The Department of Jobs, Skills, Industry and Regions only considered 2 options: to host or not to host the games.
Mr Greaves found the business case did not analyse any other possible and potentially lower-cost options including holding some events in Melbourne and using existing infrastructure.
It also failed to consider a model with most events in a single regional city.
The review found that while the idea of Victoria hosting the Games was first suggested by Commonwealth Games Australia, Visit Victoria developed the regional multi-city concept which was supported by the government.
Former premier Daniel Andrews promoted the games as a way to boost regional tourism.
A Victorian government spokesman did not directly respond to questions about the compensation, instead reaffirming that $6 billion was too much for a 12-day sporting event.
“When the Commonwealth Games needed a host city to step in at the last minute, we were willing to help – but not at any price, and not without a big lasting benefit for regional Victoria,” she said
