The Mayor of London said he was “ready” to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after the Australian state of Victoria pulled out after a budgetary disaster.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), which runs the multi-sport event originally called the British Empire Games, did not even announce Victoria as the host for its 2026 event until April last year, three years later than planned.
The sole volunteer to host the Games, Victoria’s bid was unanimously accepted but collapsed this week over rising costs.
“The decision to bid for the Commonwealth Games would need to be taken by the Government,” a spokesperson for the Mayor of London said. “However, London is the sporting capital of the world, with a wealth of experience in hosting major sporting events. The Mayor stands ready to support a submission for 2026 and future global events.”
The infrastructure and venues that already exist in London, either used or specifically built for the 2012 Olympic Games, are seen as a major factor in early-stage proposals for London to step in and save the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
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A UK Government spokesperson said: “Today’s announcement is disappointing for both fans and athletes.
“We hope that the CGF and Commonwealth Games Australia will now work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026 so that athletes have the chance to compete and fans have the opportunity to enjoy this incredible event.”
It would not be the first time the UK has been co-opted as a host, with Birmingham stepping in to take on last year’s Games after the CGF stripped South African city Durban of hosting rights back in 2017.
Former swimmer Katie Sadleir, the chief executive of the CGF, said: “The UK are fantastic hosts and we would be very open to having a conversation with them about it, if that’s something they would be interested in doing.”
But Australia is not alone in its concerns about the financial implications of hosting such an event.
“Times are tough, we’re in a sort of austerity age again, where does the money come from?” Ed Warner, the former chair of UK Athletics and author of the Sport Inc newsletter, said.
“For me, the way to make it work is to skinny down the Games to something which just focuses on the sport and takes out a lot of the pageantry.
“We need to show a way to do this which is consistent with strained economic times.”