Team Scotland "shocked and disappointed" by Commonwealth Games cancellation
The 2026 Games were set to take place across Victoria, Australia
Last updated 18th Jul 2023
Scotland’s Commonwealth team is shocked and disappointed by the host city’s decision to pull out of the Games.
The Victorian state government announced its decision to withdraw as host for the 2026 event this morning, giving the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) just eight hours’ notice.
In a statement, Team Scotland said their preparations were “well underway” for the selection process of sending athletes to Australia.
They added: “The Games is the only opportunity for many athletes to compete under the Scottish flag, and we know how much that means to them, our sports and supporters.
“We share their disappointment with today’s announcement and recognise the uncertainty it creates for all parties.”
Victoria’s state premier, Daniel Andrews, told media in Melbourne the original budget for the games was estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) but had ballooned out to nearly triple that.
He said: "Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out, but of course not at any price.
"I've made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them.
"It's just quite obvious, we are not going to spend six to seven billion dollars on a 12-day sporting event.
"We don't just make popular decisions, we do what's right and it would simply be wrong."
"Absolutely embarrassing"
However, Commonwealth Games Australia chief executive Craig Phillips delivered a stern response to the announcement and rejected the financial figures cited by Andrews.
He described the comments as “a gross exaggeration”, adding: “The Victorian Government wilfully ignored recommendations to move events to purpose-built stadia in Melbourne and in fact remained wedded to expensive temporary venues in regional Victoria.”
He concluded by saying it was an “absolutely embarrassing” decision to scrap the Games.
Scotland’s most successful Games were at home for Glasgow 2014, where they won a record 53 medals and finished fourth on the medal table.
Team Scotland said it would now assess the implications of the decision and wait for updates on options for 2026 from the CGF.