Commonwealth Games loses potential 2030 host and considers one year delay for 2026 edition

Influenced by the Victorian Government’s decision to relinquish hosting of the 2026 Commonwealth Games and citing rising costs, the Canadian province of Alberta has pulled out of the bidding process for the 2030 edition of the Games.

Alberta had been exploring the possibilities of hosting the Games between a number of cities and regional areas in a similar plan to that of Victoria.

However, in a statement released at the end of last week, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF)/Commonwealth Sport advised “Commonwealth Sport Canada has been informed by the Alberta Government that they have decided to discontinue the exploration of a 2030 Commonwealth Games bid.

“We believe the recent decision by the Victorian government to withdraw from the 2026 Commonwealth Games was a significant factor in Alberta’s decision, as well as an over-dependence on taxpayer’s support for the planning and delivery of the Games.”

Noting that Alberta's withdrawal is "not great news", CGF Chief Executive, Katie Sadleir advised that “(this) has given us the opportunity to have a look at who is interested, but at the same time think about what we might do that might be quite different, so that process is ongoing in terms of having discussions with some of our members to talk about what could be the opportunities in the short-term.”

Subsequent reports suggest that the CGF is prepared to delay the staging of the 2026 Commonwealth Games until the following year as it seeks to find a new host.

With the Victorian Government having withdrawn from its hosting, the CGF now has less than three years' notice to the originally allocated dates of 17th to 29th March 2026.

Amid speculation that Perth and the Gold Coast as cities in the United Kingdom may be likely replacements for the 2026 Games have not resulted in any firm interest.

The Commonwealth Games, originally known as the Empire Games, has been held every four years since its inaugural edition in Hamilton in 1930, with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War.

Image: Opening ceremony for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games.