Commonwealth Games organizers say they will listen to any offer from the UK to act as emergency host for the 2026 event after the abrupt withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria.
State Premier Daniel Andrews announced Victoria’s departure on Tuesday, citing rising costs.
Katie Sadler, chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), said her organization was “open” to discussions with all members with a view to replacing Victoria as host – including the UK.
Prior to that, Sadleir said CGF would work with her attorneys to reach an appropriate compensation arrangement with Victoria after her withdrawal.
She told the Palestinian News Agency: “The United Kingdom is a wonderful host and we would be very open to talking to them about this if this is something they would be interested in doing.”
Birmingham entered as host for the 2022 Games after the CGF stripped Durban, South Africa, of its hosting rights in 2017.
Asked if the British government would encourage the UK’s 2026 candidacy, Prime Minister’s spokesperson Rishi Sunak said: “We are getting a little ahead of ourselves.”
A Downing Street spokesman had earlier said they hoped to find a “practical solution” to hold the event in Australia.
Asked if Australia was still CGF’s first preference, Sadleir said: “We are open to all opportunities, but the Australian Commonwealth Games is our partner in terms of a hosting agreement which we have been working towards for some time.
“I’m meeting (Craig Phillips, CEO of the CGA) to talk about what other (Australian) cities and states are interested in, so we’ll have this conversation with them. But at the same time, we have to be open to discussions with our broader members as well.”
Victoria’s withdrawal would reopen the debate about the future of the Games and the cost of holding them.
Andrews said the estimated costs of his bidding mandate now amounted to A$7 billion (£3.6 billion).
Victoria were the first hosts to take advantage of CGF’s new “roadmap”, designed to make hosting the event more cost-effective. Among the measures laid out in the roadmap are reducing the number of compulsory sports from 16 to two and removing the requirement to establish a dedicated sports village.
Sadleir thought Victoria had the flexibility to host the Games at a much lower cost, but chose not to, choosing to hold the event in five regional centers rather than centralize it in Melbourne.
“The cost of the Games is related to what the host country wants to earn from it,” she said.
“These were very expensive and unique games, but they were motivated by what the Victorian government wanted to do.”
Describing the news of Victoria’s withdrawal as “devastating”, Sadleir said the public security forces had received eight hours’ notice of the decision to withdraw.
Sadleir said CGA chief executive Craig Phillips was “right” in his statement on Tuesday that Victoria had “willfully ignored” recommendations that could have cut costs, such as using existing facilities in Melbourne.
“We always wonder if they really thought about the dispersive model,” Sadleir adds.
They have increased the number of axles from the original bid. They added additional sports and decided to invest in facilities outside Melbourne, some of which have a limited heritage due to their pop-up nature. But those were decisions they made.
“We went back to them a few times to say, ‘Are you sure?’ And it was secured.
“We knew there was a budget proposal, it was a paper that was sent to the CGF in mid-April. So we knew (of an increase in estimated costs), but we didn’t have those numbers that are (now) in the public domain.
“We certainly offer a variety of solutions to really bring the cost of gaming down. They said it was their unique model and they wanted to invest in regional economic development. They didn’t want anything that was in Melbourne, they wanted to invest in the regions and at every point we thought they had the funding for that.”
The British government estimated the cost of holding the Birmingham Games last year at £778m, and an independent report published in January said the Games had already contributed £870.7m to the British economy so far.
Asked if she could guarantee the athletes that the Olympics would be held in 2026, Sadleir said: “What I can guarantee is that I will work hard to achieve this.”
On the subject of Victoria’s compensation, Sadleir said: “We have a contract with (Victoria) to deliver the games. They are in default in this contract.
“There are a number of clauses outlining the kind of cash flow that would have occurred had the Games been held. We are sitting down to consider options to come to a decision that we are pleased with.”
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