Commonwealth Games in 2026 is on shaky grounds after Victoria pulled out as hosts on July 18 (Tuesday) citing budget issues. Victoria Premier Dan Andrews stated that the budget went completely out of hands contrary to the estimated one. Initially the budget was estimated to be Aus $ 2 billion and now the cost is going as high as Aus $ 6 billion which is too much for a 12-day sporting event according to Andrews.
Other states in Australia have been also quick to rule themselves out of contention. With only around three years to go for the mega event, Ahmedabad as emerged as a contender to bid for hosting rights of Commonwealth Games. According to a report in TOI, the Gujarat government has indicated that it might bid for Ahmedabad to host the 2026 CWG event.
The sources in state government have stated that they were already preparing to bid for the 2030 Commonwealth Games and are expecting for the infrastructure related work to be completed by 2028. However, after Victoria's pull out, the government is actively considering to bid for the hosting rights of CWG. But then they will have to complete the infrastructure work earlier and in this case, the state government is hoping for the support from the Union Government.
Moreover, a top source in the government has claimed that the state government will be able to complete all the development work for the Olympic games bid before 2026. "The projects of Ahmedabad's bid for the 2036 Olympics will be completed by 2026. Following the development of Victoria pulling out of hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games, Gujarat is confident that it will get a nod from the Union government to make a bid for the 2026 Games at Ahmedabad," sources said.
