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I can understand how costs run into the Billions when events require new stadiums, major infrastructure etc. But something like the commonwealth games should be well within the existing infrastructure for a large/capital city...
That was the criticism - the government wanted to put the Games in rural Victoria, not in Melbourne (where all the infrastructure already exists).

Bizarrely, they're apparently still going ahead with building the new stadia out there, even though the Games have been cancelled.

Thanks, I wasn't aware.

I did wonder because I was in Melbourne a few years back (just before COVID) and it seemed really well set up for big events like this.

That sounds about right for governments and rural activities :(

The cynics among us in Victoria believe the bid was just a state election stunt to woo rural voters that the government never intended to follow through with.
The games are (like the Olympics) an excuse for spending the money, not a cause.
Good fucking riddance. The games are probably the most high profile Commonwealth event. Once they're completely scrapped, it'll be easier to kill off the Commonwealth altogether.
What's wrong with the commonwealth?
It was replaced by NATO. With a new king. /s
There are 56 members of the Commonwealth. There are 31 members of NATO.

Only Canada and the UK are in both.

Isn't the Commonwealth mostly a quaint and harmless organization by now?
It's a pointless organisation that only exists to stoke Britain's ego. Let's just kill it.
The notion of the Commonwealth is largely historial and empire-based, as the article mentions. However, with the Olympics widely viewed as highly corrupt, an alternative set of games is worthwhile. It's a pity it can't be expanded to the world as an alternative.

Second, this seems a particularly bad impact:

> Australian swimmer Rowan Crothers points out the cancellation is particularly painful for people with disabilities. The Commonwealth Games is the only major international competition that features athletes with a disability alongside able-bodied athletes.

> "[It's] a great opportunity to raise awareness for disabled sport. Seeing the Games cancelled will suck for the state of inclusion," he wrote on Twitter. "For some athletes, a gold medal at the Commonwealth Games means more than a gold medal at the Paralympics… recognition and equality can mean more than achievement."