Australian state of Victoria will host the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Premier Daniel Andrews tweeted:
The opening ceremony will be held in Melbourne at the MCG while the games will be organised with a focus on boosting the regional economy.
“This will be a Commonwealth Games like no other. We promised we wouldn’t be doing a re-run of 2006, as successful as that was.”
Mr Andrews said that 2026 events would be largely held in the regional areas in contrast to the Melbourne 2006 Games.
Regional hubs will be set up in Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat and Gippsland, with athletes’ villages to be established in each centre.
The list of sports is as follows:
- Aquatics (Swimming, Para Swimming and Diving) – Geelong
- Athletics and Para Athletics – Ballarat
- Badminton – Gippsland
- Beach Volleyball – Geelong
- Boxing – Ballarat
- Cricket T20 – Geelong, Gippsland, Ballarat, Bendigo
- Cycling – Gippsland to Bendigo
- Gymnastics – Geelong
- Hockey – Geelong
- Lawn Bowls and Para Lawn Bowls – Bendigo
- Netball – Bendigo
- Rugby Sevens – Gippsland
- Squash – Bendigo
- Table Tennis and Para Table Tennis – Geelong
- Triathlon and Para Triathlon – Geelong
- Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting – Bendigo
The focus on regional areas will provide “affordable housing and modern sports infrastructure” to the people living here.
