D-day for the Commonwealth Games. Their short-term future – the 2026 edition, still without a host country – will be decided this Friday March 22 in Kuala Lumpur. The Malaysian authorities must decide whether the country can embark on the adventure, perilous two years from the deadline, of organizing the multi-sport event after the withdrawal last year of the Australian state of Victoria, its initial host .
For the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), a positive response from Malaysia and its capital, Kuala Lumpur, would feel like a gift from heaven. The body even offered a very respectable sum of 100 million pounds ($128 million) to the Southeast Asian country to host the Games. A nice gesture. But also the illustration of the critical situation in which the event finds itself since the Australian renunciation.
But, let's be clear, the latest signals give little cause for optimism. They even prepare the ground for Malaysia's refusal to throw itself headfirst into a project that could cost it dearly, and ultimately bring it little.
The Minister of Sports, Hannah Yeoh, summarized the trend on Thursday March 21 before parliamentarians. She explained, in essence, that it would be better for the country not to host the Commonwealth Games in 2026 if hosting the event required public expenditure.
« If taxpayers' money must be spent, then perhaps the best choice for the government is not to host the event.", she declared, before specifying that the final decision belonged to the Cabinet. Hanna Yeoh also announced in Parliament that her ministry would create a regulatory body to audit the accounts in the event that Malaysia ultimately leans yes.
The message is clear: OK to replace the Victoria and organize the Games with two years of preparation, but on the condition that the budget is ensured by the subsidy from the CGF, namely a little less than 130 million dollars.
Impossible ? For sure. Certainly, Kuala Lumpur hosted the Commonwealth Games in 1998. The sports facilities are still standing. With a lick of paint, they could be used again. Certainly, also, the Malaysian Olympic Committee suggested reducing the size of the Games in 2026, by cutting back on the program, but also by lodging the delegations in hotels and by imagining opening and closing ceremonies in a minimalist version.
However, completing the organization of a multi-sport event of the size of the Commonwealth Games could in no way be possible with a budget of 130 million dollars.
Faced with such a state of affairs, two options emerge. The first: Malaysia refusing to host the Games in 2026. The second? An extension from the Commonwealth Games Federation, sufficient to ensure a reasonable budget without an infusion of public money.
