Victoria, Australia’s most populous state, will pay A$380 million ($243 million) to Commonwealth Games organizers, Premier Daniel Andrews announced on Saturday, after withdrawing as the 2026 tournament host due to a projected cost overrun.
Victoria backed out of hosting the quadrennial multi-sport event, which was to be staged in four regional centres, in July, citing cost overruns of more than A$7 billion from a budgeted A$2.6 billion.
The decision raises the potential that the Games will not be held for the first time since they were postponed due to the Second World War.
The Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships, Commonwealth Games Australia, and Victoria said they had settled all their disputes regarding the cancellation of the multi-hub regional Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games in a joint statement issued by Andrews on Saturday.
“The State of Victoria has agreed to pay the Commonwealth Games parties… AUD $380 million”, the statement read.
“The parties also agreed that the multi-hub regional model was more expensive to host than traditional models”, the statement added.
The payout comes after another blow was handed to the long-running event earlier this month when Canada’s Alberta province withdrew its backing for a bid for the 2030 Games.
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