Back
~
1
min read
· Posted on
February 21, 2024

Victoria drops the Commonwealth Games over a multi-billion-dollar budget blooper... and the maths ain't mathing

With the games expected to cost so much money, Victoria has cancelled the Commonwealth Games.

What's the key learning?

  • When Victoria was first announced as the host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the government set a budget of $2.6 billion to put on the games in regional Victoria.
  • The economic impact of hosting the Commonwealth Games and Olympics tends to be less positive than originally anticipated.
  • A study from 2022 found that the average return-on-investment for an Olympic Games was negative 38%.

👉 Background: We all know the Commonwealth Games as the quasi-Olympics... but only for Commonwealth countries. And without China and the US competing, Aussies love it - because we've won 8 of the 9 most recent games.

👉 What happened: Victoria was announced as the host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games back in April 2022. And the government had an expected budget of $2.6 billion to put on the games in regional Victoria.

👉 What else: But there was a slight miscalculation... Premier Daniel Andrews has now said that the games will cost between $6 - $7 billion. And with the games expected to cost so much money, Andrews has cancelled the Commonwealth Games.

What's the key learning?

💡The economic impact of hosting the Commonwealth Games and Olympics tends to be less positive than originally anticipated.

💡More than four out of five Olympics ran at a deficit between 1964 and 2016. The expenses of the new infrastructure, new jobs, promotions and everything else cost a LOT more than the revenue from tickets and tourism.

💡A study from 2022 found that the average return-on-investment for an Olympic Games was negative 38%. And while generally, the Commonwealth Games host uses existing stadiums, Victoria were going all-out in the regions.

Ready to win at money?

Sign up for Flux and join 100,000 members of the Flux family

A button to App StoreGoogle Play store button
Excellent  4.9 out of 5
Star rating
No items found.