Dan Andrews, the premier of Victoria, has opted to axe the state's hosting rights to the 2026 Commonwealth Games, citing cost overruns and a lack of ROI for Victoria in the decision.
Andrews said that when the Commonwealth Games needed a host city to step in at the last minute, Victoria was willing to help – "but not at any price and not without a big lasting benefit for regional Victoria".
"It’s now clear: more than $6 billion for a 12-day sporting event is just too high. It’s more than twice the estimated economic benefit the Games would bring our state," said Andrews in a series of tweets.
"The main reason we agreed to host the Games was to create a big lasting benefit for our regions – with more housing, boosts to tourism and sporting infrastructure upgrades."
MAGNA Australia’s MD, Lucy Formosa-Morgan (pictured right), said that it's disappointing to hear Victoria has pulled out but given the cost blow out that Andrews quoted, and the economic headwinds governments and individuals are facing, she can understand the pressure the Victorian government was under to make a call.
"From a diversity perspective, it’s also a setback for sport as a whole, with the Comm Games having a higher percentage of female athlete participation and with para-athletes competing alongside able-bodied athletes," said Formosa-Morgan.
"I would hope that another state or territory relooks at the opportunity, their existing infrastructure and steps in to pick up the rights for the athletes sake, but also selfishly so that the Games are in our time zone.
"From an advertiser perspective, the broadcast rights hadn’t yet been finalised, so advertisers wouldn’t have already locked in their broadcast packages or commitments, much as I’m sure budgets may have been ring-fenced."
Sam Cousins (pictured below right), chief strategy officer at The Media Store, said that she used to enjoy The Commonwealth Games more than the Olympics, especially as a Brit, but now she realises that enjoyment came from growing up in a household that was pro-Royal, who used to love how far the empire extended.
"It’s not something to be proud of anymore, especially in a year where we approach way more weightier issues in the Voice referendum to reverse damage many of our English founders caused," said Cousins.
"On top of this, with more unprecedented access to how governments spend their budgets than ever before, events li
ke this fast lose their relevance, in the midst of the greatest cost of living crisis and housing crisis we have ever seen.
"Many Victorians would rather this kind of budget gets redirected to fixing healthcare, education, climate change, housing and mental health. Those are the kind of areas we should worry about ad dollars being pulled from, and helping brands see the value in real purpose-led activity by supporting them."
Although Australian broadcast rights haven't been set yet for the 2026 edition of the quadrennial multi-sport event, Seven held the rights last year, with the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games reaching a total national audience of 11.1 million over the 12 days for its linear broadcast, while 7plus delivered Australia’s biggest ever digital audience for a Commonwealth Games, up 177 % in BVOD versus the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games and up 86% in live streaming.
At the time, Rob Maclean, national sports sales director at Seven, said that "...brands see the benefit of activating around a major broadcast event with truly national appeal as a way to reach mass and engaged audiences". Media agencies AdNews spoke to about the 2022 Games were similarly optimistic, calling it "another premium opportunity for advertisers to be involved in a key sporting tentpole event."
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