Malaysia rejects chance to host 2026 Commonwealth Games over costs

Malaysia said it had decided against hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games because of the costs involved, raising fresh doubts over the future of the international multi-sport event.

The decision, made at a cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, follows the withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria last year.

“The Ministry of Youth and Sports today announced the government’s decision not to accept an offer from the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games,” minister Hannah Yeoh said.

The CGF is scrambling to find a host after Victoria withdrew because of soaring costs.

The CGF offered Malaysia and other potential hosts £100 million ($125 million) to step in with just over two years to go until the Games are supposed to take place.

But the Malaysian government said the offer was “not expected to be able to cover the entire cost of organising a largescale sports event”, Yeoh said.

“The government wants to focus on the development of sports as well as the welfare and wellbeing of the people,” she added.

A spokesman for the CGF said the search for a host of the event would continue.

“We are disappointed that Malaysia has decided not to submit a proposal for the 2026

Commonwealth Games and thank them for their work to date and commitment to the Commonwealth sport movement,” the spokesman said.

“The confidential process to determine a host is continuing with other interested Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs).”

AlternAtive

Victoria’s sudden move, and the lack of an obvious alternative, raised questions over the future of the Games, which take place every four years and were last held in Birmingham, central England, in 2022.

The relevance of the event, with most of the competing teams drawn from former

British colonies, has come under scrutiny amid persistent questions over the UK’s colonial legacy.

Birmingham stepped in as host at relatively short notice after Durban, in South Africa, was forced to pull out due to a number of issues including financial problems.

The CGF earlier this month hailed Malaysia’s “fantastic track record”, with the country having staged the Games in 1998.

But the CGF also suggested that Malaysia was not the only country it had approached to host the Games.

Singapore recently said it was “assessing the feasibility” of the CGF’s proposal.

The wealthy city-state also holds the annual F1 night race and will be staging the World Aquatics Championships in 2025.

The prospect of Malaysia hosting the Commonwealth Games had sparked debate.

Mohamad Norza Zakaria, president of the Commonwealth Games Association of Malaysia, had called it a “oncein-a-lifetime opportunity” that could put the country back on the sporting map.

But doubts emerged last week after current senior officials expressed reservations.

Khairy Jamaluddin, a former youth and sports minister, rubbished the idea and called it “reckless” because there was little time for planning.