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London “stands ready” to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games with an estimated cost of £500mn from central government, according to City Hall officials, as organisers rush to find a new home for the competition.
The nearly 100 year-old games, staged every four years, involve nations from the Commonwealth — made up largely of states with historic connections to the UK — competing in a variety of sports, from badminton to lawn balls.
The shock withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria as host has stoked intense speculation over the future of the games after the death of Queen Elizabeth II, who was seen as one of the last unifying symbols of the Commonwealth.
Daniel Andrews, Labor premier of Victoria, pulled the state out of hosting the event this week, citing spiralling costs which had trebled to as much as A$7bn (£3.7bn) from the A$2.6bn (£1.35bn) initially projected last year.
Andrews said the decision to withdraw had not been difficult as it would be a case of “all cost, no benefit” for the indebted Australian state.
However, London’s Mayor Sadiq Khan is among a handful of city leaders that have expressed a desire to host the games in 2026.
London officials estimate that the event would cost about £500mn, vastly below figures offered by other prospective host cities, largely owing to the capital’s sporting infrastructure.
A spokesperson for Khan said London “stands ready to support if required”, but noted that the ultimate decision to bid would be taken by the government.
One person briefed on the UK government’s thinking said the preference in Westminster was still for Australia to take up the mantle.
The games fight for attention in a crowded international sporting calendar, with fierce competition for investment, commercial partners and fans. The Commonwealth Games relies almost entirely on government funding.
“I’m not sure we’ll ever get away from the requirement for public funds,” said Ian Reid, chief execution for the Birmingham 2022 games.
Birmingham came in under its £778mn budget for hosting the tournament, and Andy Street, the West Midlands mayor, said the event had attracted more money to the city than it had cost.
Economists said Victoria’s plan to hold events in rural and coastal areas of the state — which increased the cost — was not in tune with the model adopted by the Olympics. The Olympics opt for cities with existing sporting infrastructure to lower the financial burden of hosting a large event.
Tim Harcourt, an economist with the University of Technology Sydney, said that the public had become increasingly unwilling to bankroll expensive events in the hope of generating legacy revenue.
Mayors of the Gold Coast, the Queensland coastal region that held the games in 2018, and Christchurch in New Zealand, also both expressed interest in hosting the games if central government funding could be secured.
The Gold Coast bid could have been held for A$1.2bn, according to the region’s mayor, but was immediately quashed by the Queensland government because the state is focusing on the 2032 Olympic Games in Brisbane.
Meanwhile, the Scottish government said it was studying the feasibility of hosting some of the events if it were to become a multi-city, multi-country competition.
The Welsh government, which had considered submitting a bid for Cardiff to hold the event in 2022 at a cost of between £1.3bn and £1.5bn, has ruled out the possibility this time because of “budgetary concerns”.
If the Commonwealth Games were held in England in 2026, it would be the fourth time in the competition’s 22-game history. Australia has held it five times.
A spokesperson for the UK government said: “We hope that the Commonwealth Games Federation and Commonwealth Games Australia will now work together to find a viable solution to hosting the event in 2026.”
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