Victoria reaches $243 million settlement after withdrawing as Commonwealth Games host

Australian state of Victoria has reached a multi-million dollar settlement for withdrawing as hosts of the 2026 Commonwealth Games. In a joint statement released by the state, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships (CGFP) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA), it was revealed that Victoria will pay Aus$380 million (US$243 million) for not honouring the agreement.

The state’s premier Daniel Andrews had announced in July that the Games were no longer feasible and not go ahead as planned due to spiralling costs.

Read | Australia pulling out as hosts puts a question mark over Commonwealth Games’ future

Andrews had said in July that the initial estimate of Aus$2 billion (US$1.36 billion) needed to host the Games would increase to approximately Aus$7 billion (US$4.76 billion), which he called “well and truly too much”.

After Victoria’s decision to withdraw as hosts, all parties entered “confidential good faith negotiations”, according to Saturday’s joint statement, with a mediation process overseen by former New Zealand judge Kit Toogood and former chief justice of the Western Australia Supreme Court Wayne Martin.

The statement added: “All parties engaged respectfully and made appropriate concessions in order to reach an agreement.

“The parties also agreed that the multi-hub regional model was more expensive to host than the traditional models.”

Read | No Commonwealth Games in 2026? What happens as Victoria pulls out as host

The rest of the settlement will remain confidential, it said, adding that this “finalises all matters between the parties (and they) are legally bound not to speak further regarding the details of the settlement”.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games — featuring 20 sports and 26 disciplines — was set to be held across five regional hubs, including Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland and Shepparton, with each having its own athletes’ village.

Commonwealth Games typically attracts over 4,000 athletes from the 54 nations of the Commonwealth, almost all of them former territories of the British Empire.