Commonwealth Games: Victoria’s regions ‘shocked and disappointed’ after event cancelled

The 2026 Games, which Daniel Andrews announced would be cancelled, was set to be held across Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton

Regional areas have been left “shocked and disappointed” after the Victorian government decided to cancel the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

On Tuesday the government announced it would cancel the 12-day event after the cost blew out from $2.6bn and could have reached $7bn, with the premier, Daniel Andrews, saying he did not want to take money from other areas of the budget to pay for the Games.