20 July 2023

By Göran R Buckhorn

On Tuesday, Daniel Andrew, the Victorian Premier, said the state will not be hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. The decision makes the future of the Commonwealth Games uncertain.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has been struggling to find hosts for the Games. The 2022 Games were supposed to be held in Durban, South Africa, but the organisers had to back out after money problems and not meeting key deadlines. The 2022 Games instead went to Birmingham which, with the help of the British government, managed to cough up $1bn. According to reports, it was the best attended Games ever.

The state of Victoria is now backing out after the cost of the 12-day Games has swollen up to more than A$2.6 billion.

Rowing was a sport in the Commonwealth Games (in the beginning called The British Empire Games) from its initiation year 1930 to 1962 and again in 1986.

In 2022, World Rowing announced that the Commonwealth Rowing Association, Rowing Australia and the Organising Committee for Victoria 2026 had decided to include Beach Sprint Rowing to the programme of the 2026 Games.

Now, there will not be any Commonwealth Games in Victoria, Australia. Experts are worried that this means the end of the Commonwealth Games as a whole.

This is the second blow to Beach Rowing in a short time. On 5 July, HTBS reported that the Indonesian city of Bali had withdrawn as host of the World Beach Games, which includes Beach Rowing. The Games were supposed to be held on 5-12 August 2023.

World Rowing and the international rowing community are waiting to hear from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) if Beach Sprint Rowing will be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. A decision will probably come in September.