Following an extended, sluggish slide in opposition to irrelevance, issues have been having a look up in recent times for the Commonwealth Games – the Olympics-lite multi-sport pageant for British colonies previous and provide.
The 2022 version in Birmingham have been successful, amongst fanatics and athletes alike. The Games Federation had increasingly more sought to grapple with its difficult previous, a fancy legacy of colonialism that sits uneasily with the celebratory tone of a big wearing tournament. Unlike the Olympics, which has attempted to silence its individuals, the Games had even embraced athlete activism.
And after a mad scramble to discover a host for the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a result of no town in reality sought after them, Victoria had agreed to host on a multi-location regional foundation. It promised to be an exhilarating proposition: a smaller, extra nimble Games, taking elite recreation to regional hubs, moderately than construction extra white elephant stadiums at the outskirts of huge towns.
Had it been a success, the Victorian manner would possibly have lead the way for a sustainable, refreshed long run for the Commonwealth Games – and some degree of distinction from the Olympic behemoth. A disaggregated style for those turbulent instances; Regional Games one cycle, most likely nationwide and even globally-dispersed Games the following?
But it used to be to not be. On Tuesday, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews canceled the 2026 Games. In doing so, has he canceled them endlessly?
In the times forward, a lot ink can be spilled on Victoria’s determination, together with the monetary and political implications. The headline determine in Andrews’ press convention, $7bn, turns out astonishing. The prior to now estimated funds of $2.6bn used to be already upper than fresh editions – Birmingham spent about A$1.4bn, whilst the ultimate Games in Australia, at the Gold Coast in 2018, value A$1.6bn.
In a commentary, the Commonwealth Games Federation famous that because the tournament used to be awarded, the federal government had “made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the federation. The discrepancy between the cost of recent Games and the figures cited by Andrews, raise questions about whether it was the Games themselves that were too expensive, or some particular, Rolls Royce vision of the Games that the Victorian government had in mind.
Of course the cancellation is entirely within the government’s democratic prerogative – only it will be held accountable at the ballot box. The volte-face is also a marked and somewhat laudable contrast from recent Olympics, where the International Olympic Committee has seemingly called the shots despite popular disapproval, such as the Covid Games in Tokyo. But it is a peculiar development nonetheless.
So where does this leave the Commonwealth Games? It is probably premature to write an obituary. Victoria’s cancellation sounded the starting gun for other potential hosts, with suggestions that Perth or Sydney might consider hosting (the loudest cheerleader Basil for Team WA, Perth Lord Mayor Zempilas, also happens to work for Channel Seven – who broadcast the 2022 Games). Successive state premiers poured cold water on these ideas, many also citing budget challenges, but an alternative host, in Australia or abroad, might yet be found.
Even if the 2026 Games go ahead, this high-profile cancellation poses an existential challenge to the Games. As a second-tier event with a first-tier price tag, the Games need to prove their relevance to fans and athletes if they are to continue. It is, after all, an event thought up by a Canadian sportswriter to celebrate the British empire, sparked largely by Canadian-American animosity at a prior Olympics. That Australia’s seafaring ride home from the inaugural Games in Canada sank and left the team stranded only underscores the anachronistic origins.
The world might not mourn the loss of the Commonwealth Games. If, as Andrews promised on Tuesday, the funding is redirected towards regional revitalization and social housing, that is certainly better value for taxpayer money than an expensive two-week sporting extravaganza (or a glorified school sports carnival, as someone unkindly quipped). The Games’ connection to a history of oppression and bloodshed will always be hard to shake off while they remain, through name and membership, intrinsically linked with Britain’s colonial past.
But for those that believe in the power of sport, to inspire, to foster connection and shared belonging, to promote participation, there will always be a place for major sporting events. The pressing question for the Commonwealth Games is whether they deserve that place.
The timing of the cancellation was oddly apt – just two days out from the first Women’s World Cup to be held on Australian soil. The month ahead will be a joyous celebration of the coming of age of women’s sport, a triumph in breaking down barriers. It will be the biggest standalone women’s sporting event, for a sport that has championed gender equality and LGBTQ+ inclusion. It will be a mega sporting event for our time, a beacon of hope for inclusion and equity, in sport and society alike.
If the Commonwealth Games can reinvent itself to be fit for purpose in the modern era, it might still thrive – notwithstanding the blow of Victoria’s cancellation. If not, the death of the Games, like the end of empire itself, is to be celebrated, not mourned.