The next Commonwealth Games are to be held in 2026. However, it has not been decided yet which country will host these games.
After Australia, England and now Malaysia have also refused to host these games.
Firstly, Victoria, an Australian state, was the original host for this mega event, which withdrew from hosting some time back.
The Gold Coast, which hosted the 2018 Commonwealth Games, expressed interest in hosting the Games again, but the deal fell through.
After this the UK government came forward, which organized the 2022 Commonwealth Games after the South African city of Durban accepted defeat, but England is not ready to host the 2026 Games.
And now, another country has decided it won’t bail out the beleaguered games. This dealt another blow to an already bad situation.
This country is Malaysia. In such a situation, there is now a crisis in hosting these games. The reason behind this is that organizing Commonwealth Games involves a lot of cost and everyone is trying to avoid it.
Why did Victoria step back?
The Australian state of Victoria has claimed that the cost of hosting these games is crossing $4.5 billion. In such a situation they will not host it.
After Victoria’s withdrawal, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) approached a country to host.
After considering many options, it seemed that Malaysia could host these games, but what Victoria did in 2023, Malaysia did the same in 2024.
Why did Malaysia step aside?
According to The Guardian, Malaysia has rejected the proposal due to uncertainty over the cost and insufficient funding offered. Although the CGF offered 100 million euros in support funding, Malaysian authorities considered this insufficient.
However, they stated that the funding was not sufficient, adding that they could not commit to hosting the event at such a short time and with little time to assess the potential economic impact.
why no one wants to host
Olympics, FIFA World Cup and Commonwealth Games are some of the events where economic boom is seen for some time. A lot is prepared for the game.
Infrastructure is prepared. Even broadcasting rights are sold for huge sums. However, experts believe that the Olympics and FIFA World Cup get global reach, but the Commonwealth Games do not get that much attention because these games are associated with the British Empire.
What is the next step for CGF?
If the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) wants to host the Games in 2026, it will have to approach a city in Singapore or Canada.
Apart from this, the other option is to postpone these games for one year. The third option is to increase the funding even more so that other countries come forward to host these games.