Malaysia offered £100m to host 2026 Commonwealth Games after Australia’s abrupt withdrawal last July: BBC report

Malaysia has been offered £100 million (HK$1 billion) to hold the Commonwealth Games again after Australia withdrew as host for the 2026 edition last July because of rising costs. According to the BBC, Malaysia’s Olympic Council received a formal invitation last month from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to replace the Australian state of Victoria. The federation is scrambling to find a host after Victoria’s abrupt pull-out, and said it was in “advanced discussions” with potential hosts. The lack of an obvious alternative triggered debate about the future of the Games, which take place every four years and were last held in Birmingham in 2022. It has been cancelled only twice, in 1942 and 1946, because of World War II. A statement on the Olympic Council of Malaysia (OCM) website said the £100 million would support “the local delivery and legacy planning” of the 2026 Games. Malaysia has hosted the Games once before, in Kuala Lumpur, the country’s capital, in 1998. It was the first time the multi-sport event was held in an Asian country and the first time team sports were included. Mohamad Norza Zakaria, president of the Commonwealth Games Association of Malaysia, said the chance to host in 2026 was a “once in a lifetime opportunity to build on the success of 1998” and put the country “back on to the world sporting map”. A CGF spokesman told BBC Sport that the £100 million of “financial and strategic support” has been made available for potential hosts as part of Victoria’s withdrawal settlement. A statement read: “The CGF is in advanced, confidential discussions with potential hosts to secure a solution for the 2026 Games that inspires athletes and helps transform the Games to a truly sustainable model. “Malaysia has a fantastic track record of delivering sporting events and the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur were hugely successful. We are encouraged by their early concepts of building on this legacy through use of many of the same world-class facilities. “We welcome innovative proposals and are in positive discussions with potential hosts. We are committed to providing an update on the expedited process, and giving greater clarity to our stakeholders and athletes, as soon as possible.” To be eligible to participate, competitors must be from one of the Commonwealth’s more than 70 nations or territories – many of which were once part of the British Empire. The CGF had been struggling to find a host for the 2026 Games before Victoria volunteered in April 2022, the BBC report said. Organisers had originally estimated the event – hosted across cities including Geelong, Bendigo and Ballarat – would cost A$2.6 billion (HK$13.7 billion). But the expected cost for the 12-day tournament rose to more than A$6 billion, prompting the state to cancel its plans. The South African city of Durban was originally set to stage the 2022 games, but was stripped of hosting rights in 2017 after running into money troubles and missing key deadlines. Birmingham agreed to host nine months later. Last week, the Commonwealth Games was missing from a list of 70 major events that UK Sport said it wanted Britain to host in the next 15 years. Deputy CEO Simon Morton said: “The challenge for us thinking about the Commonwealth Games in the future is simply a value for money one, rather than does it have benefit? “We’ve got an open dialogue with the Commonwealth Games Federation, but until there is a little bit more clarity on what a sustainable Commonwealth Games model looks like in the future, it doesn’t appear on our list.” In Malaysia, former National Sports Council director-general Dr Ramlan Abdul Aziz told online newspaper The Rakyat Post that Malaysia should accept the offer to host the 2026 Games. He believed that, with careful study, there were no big risks involved, and the funds from CGF would offset most of the hosting costs. He added that Malaysia would not have to fork out much as participating countries would pay for participation, including accommodation, food, flights and officials under their contingents. However, citizens said online that, although the offer to host the Games was appreciated, Malaysia could not afford to host an event of that scale because of the country’s debts. They pointed out that if Australia, whose currency is stronger than Malaysia’s ringgit, found the costs too high and were willing to pay to breach the contract, it would be unthinkable and costly for Malaysia to be the hosts.

Malaysia offered £100m to host 2026 Commonwealth Games after Australia’s abrupt withdrawal last July: BBC report

Malaysia’s Olympic Council received a formal invitation last month from the Commonwealth Games Federation to replace the Australian state of Victoria If it accepts, this would be the second time Malaysia would hold the four-yearly event, which has struggled to find a host for the 2026 edition

Malaysia’s Olympic Council received a formal invitation last month from the Commonwealth Games Federation to replace the Australian state of Victoria

If it accepts, this would be the second time Malaysia would hold the four-yearly event, which has struggled to find a host for the 2026 edition