I’d personally forgotten, victoria had even won the right to host the games until this happened. Andrews was damned either way. If he’d allowed it to go over budget the media would have criticised him for wastefully spending amid the cost of living crisis.
Victoria didn’t win the right so much, more that it stepped up when other countries (and states) didn’t. Durban in South Africa was supposed to host the 2022 games, but got stripped of the rights, so Birmingham UK hosted instead, but they were supposed to be hosting 2026, so a replacement had to be found urgently. The budgeted $2.5bn represented a good way to get infrastructure into the regions, but Andrews is right to say $6bn is just too high a price for what is now a relatively niche event. Oh, and that original costing was prepared by those geniuses at PwC.
I’d personally forgotten, victoria had even won the right to host the games until this happened. Andrews was damned either way. If he’d allowed it to go over budget the media would have criticised him for wastefully spending amid the cost of living crisis.
Victoria didn’t win the right so much, more that it stepped up when other countries (and states) didn’t. Durban in South Africa was supposed to host the 2022 games, but got stripped of the rights, so Birmingham UK hosted instead, but they were supposed to be hosting 2026, so a replacement had to be found urgently. The budgeted $2.5bn represented a good way to get infrastructure into the regions, but Andrews is right to say $6bn is just too high a price for what is now a relatively niche event. Oh, and that original costing was prepared by those geniuses at PwC.