The demise of the Commonwealth Games in Victoria is yet another sign that this relic of the past is no longer relevant.
And while the Olympics will always survive while there is human lifeform on this planet, they are heading the same way towards being on the periphery of world sport.
Ever tried to explain to people outside the Commonwealth nations who exactly competes in this anachronistic event?
Or do you even know or care yourself?
There was no blood on the streets in the wake of Victoria Premier Dan Andrews’ announcement on Tuesday that the government was pulling the pin on hosting the CommGames at various regional locations.
Kyle Chalmers celebrates after winning gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. (Photo by Craig Mercer/MB Media/Getty Images)
The tepid response from many sports fans shows that the care factor is officially at defcon level meh.
When it comes to major sporting events that require new infrastructure to be built, costing millions upon billions of dollars, there has been a huge momentum shift.
People are no longer blindly celebrating a city winning hosting rights to a point where governments are now being held to account over the short-term cost and long-term pain that white elephant stadiums or athletes villages leave behind.
Qatar churned through countless billions while employing dubious foreign worker “safety” standards to build eight stadiums for last year’s FIFA World Cup and those venues are being scaled back with some of the seating supposedly being sent to poorer nations to help with their facilities.
The Commonwealth Games in regional Victoria was a significantly smaller event but the Victorian government has made a decision which will become more commonplace worldwide – to opt against hosting feelgood sporting events to ensure funds are used in other areas.
Ones that will help get them re-elected, which is a politician’s raison d’etre, and also be more worthwhile in the long run for their constituents.
The Commonwealth Games hit peak popularity in Australia on the back of Brisbane hosting in 1982 with its kitschy Matilda mascot and an avalanche of gold medals for Australian competitors.
Many swimmers and track and field athletes became household names over the next decade-plus even if they didn’t translate that dominance to the Olympics, which is one of the reasons why the Commonwealth Games has always appeared to be a pale imitation to less gullible sports fans.
Yes, athletes from the richer Commonwealth nations could succeed in many sporting disciplines yet often then be relegated to also-ran status two years later when the entire world was on the starting blocks.
And when Sydney won the hosting rights to the Olympics in 2000, the relative value of Commonwealth Games medals diminished even further.
Melbourne hosting the CommGames in 2006 was probably the last time the event truly registered on the Australian sporting Richter scale.
The Gold Coast version five years ago was newsworthy in South East Queensland but struggled to break through Australia’s infatuation with winter football codes for nationwide interest.
Australia will likely have a referendum on whether to become a republic in the near future if Anthony Albanese is re-elected as Prime Minister and only the staunchest monarchists will point to the Commonwealth Games as a reason to stick with King Charles and co.
The sporting psyche continually evolves in Australia – rowing and boxing used to garner huge interest many decades ago, surf lifesaving peaked in the 1980s and motor sport was once omnipresent but the Supercars circuit is now seen as a niche pursuit when compared to the halcyon days of Peter Brock, Dick Johnson and Glenn Seton.
Australian squash player Tamika Saxby competes against India’s Joshna Chinappa at the Gold Coast 2018 Commonwealth Games. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Squash courts used to be everywhere but are now harder to find than a bright orange bottle of Lucozade.
Olympic sports also appear to be in decline in Australia with the Games themselves also on the wane worldwide.
It’s hard to use the Tokyo Games which were delayed until 2021 due to the Covid pandemic as an accurate gauge on the current popularity of the Olympic movement but Paris next year will be a crucial litmus test on interest levels.
The IOC is trying to modernise the Games by including surfing, climbing, skateboarding and breakdancing in its Parisian program.
Whatever the question is, breakdancing ain’t the answer.
Anything that needs music is a performance, not a sport.
Some fans might think it will give the Olympics a breath of fresh air but including this pseudo sport makes the Games seem more like a circus than a sporting event.
Unfortunately for Brisbane in 2032, it will be hard to get out of the large shadow which only gets bigger in hindsight when you look back to the Sydney Olympics at the turn of the century.
(Photo By Ramsey Cardy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Where the 2026 CommGames will be held now that the Victorians have pulled the pin remains to be seen.
If the Commonwealth Games Federation wants to expand its diminishing footprint, perhaps it could look outside the four locations that have been used for the lion’s share of host cities.
Since the first event in 1930 it has been held in Britain eight times, Australia and Canada five times apiece and New Zealand on three occasions – the only ventures outside those areas were Jamaica in 1966, Malaysia in 1998 and India 13 years ago.
The 2030 event is due to be held in Hamilton to mark the centenary of the Canadian city hosting the first “Empire Games”.
Sounds like the perfect way to sign off once and for all with a neat 100 years of varying relevance in geographically disparate pockets of the globe.
From this week’s darkest chapter in Commonwealth Games history, it is highly unlikely that we will see a situation where the Empire strikes back.
Micko
Roar Rookie
England did around the 2012 London Olympics, no? Looked into it...England topped the medal tally @ Glasgow 2014 games.
JT
Roar Rookie
We love being a big fish in a small pond :stoked: . Nothing like smashing Canada and the UK (only split up into its constituent countries) every four years LOL. When was the last time Australia didn't finish top of both the overall and gold medal table at a CG? 1978?
JT
Roar Rookie
That also presumes that the Greek government (and their citizens) would actually want it permanently. I don't think their economy would be able to sustain holding the Olympics on any ongoing basis (it was hard enough for them in 2004). You can hardly force the Olympics on them, can you.
Munro Mike
Roar Rookie
.....and that's the point now - - - there's no longer the C'wealth Games setting the time agenda for the works that will now get down irrespective. The irony back with 2006 - was the rebuild of the Olympic, Members and Ponsford/Western stands are the MCG was predominantly funded by AFL/MCC (something like $465 million - with only $77 mill from state Govt) - it was completed in time for the Commonwealth Games. That led to some mistakenly believing that it was a Govt funded project for the C'wealth Games.......well.......a small portion was, however when added to the roughly $150 million price tag for the Great Southern Stand which was entirely AFL/MCC......that $77 mill looks pretty insignificant. In essence........things happen anyway........we don't need Olympics or C'wealth Games to make things happen......even in sporting infrastructure.
Simon
Roar Rookie
One thing it does do is give the best athletes in the world a chance on the big stage more than once every four years. Surely that's worth something
piru
Roar Rookie
Anything that needs music is a performance, not a sport. You could say the same about figure skating and gymnastics floor routines
Brett Allen
Roar Rookie
I did and the thinly veiled swipe at Australia being part of the Commonwealth wasn’t needed. The entire article had a barely disguised veneer of contempt at the monarchy, the Commonwealth & our place in it. The decision to cancel it was purely a financial one, and by the sounds of it, probably the right call, but then to use said decision to push the writers obvious republican agenda was pretty obvious. Hell, even Chairman Dan didn’t use this opportunity to do that.
Nick
Roar Rookie
Yeah, he can burn some political capital in the hope he can recover it in 3 years. Or, he's probably concluded considering the length of time Labor have been in power, they'll lose in 3 years anyway, so there is no political cost to making the right decision today.
langparker
Roar Rookie
Not sure if that figure can be relied on for the Gold Coast games, a lot of related infrastructure costs beyond stadium upgrades etc and that absolute slum of an athletes village. From what I have seen, even the homeless jib at moving into that accomodation. Bit concerned that the same poor choices might be happening ahead of the 2032 olympics up here. No way they need to spend a $billion on the Gabba, the only beneficiaries are the AFL and ACA. Maybe they need to kick into the tin ahead of time. You can see from the furore surrounding the Tassie stadium that there is more general opposition to these grandiose infrastructure developments than in the past. The vested interests will always trumpet the need for ‘state of the art’ facilities, they get the cream off the cake. I’m an all round sports follower but have to concede having the biggest & best is not an absolute necessity in all cases.
langparker
Roar Rookie
The greatest criticism & loudest rebukes to Dan Andrews seem to be coming from the media conglomerates (broadcast rights mean advertising revenue) and vested interests in the sporting organisations ( e.g. is my highly paid administration role at risk) compared to the average punter in the street. Saw one over the top comment from the games organising head about “losing the million visitors to Victoria the games would draw”, seriously, a million tourists flocking to regional Victoria? There’d be plenty out there who genuinely see a few $billion directed to affordable housing as better use of government funds then a 12 day circus for mostly b grade athletes. Probably a vote winner in the current climate but the current government don’t have to face the people for about 3 years anyway, do they?
Nick
Roar Rookie
What about the article was political? Did you even read it? Looks like you didn't.
Nick
Roar Rookie
The Olympics will survive for two reasons. Firstly, the whole world competes at the event. And secondly, if it becomes too expensive for countries to host it, then just leave it at Athens every four years. Agree, but the IOC have shown zero appetite to just host it at Athens. They lose out in millions that way...and can consign the hospitality and VIP treatment they get to the dustbin. No more money for international lavish junkets if the games were just at Athens? Why oh why would they give that up?
Nick
Roar Rookie
And it shouldn't take a commonwealth games as a trigger to build essential transport infrastructure in the regional centres.
Nick
Roar Rookie
I think the bigger shock with Durban was them ever being awarded it to begin with. But then that just demonstrates the nothingness of the event. If second/third tier cities or regional centres are the place in mind for it, then it's truly not the event to be spending billions on.
Cam
Roar Rookie
All true and fair, but don't put your hand up for the job if you aren't capable enough to follow through. Especially as the games were awarded in April 2022, which was after Covid, after the war had started in Ukraine and at a time when the IMF had predicted inflation to increase to 8.8%. In 2017 when Durban were pulled for the 2022 games, I wasn't overly surprised, I have plenty of Bokkie mates and it has been well documented the mess South Africa are in. It was a shock though, to see the incompetency of the Victoria government not able to deliver on it's commitment. The whole thing has a real third-world country vibe to it.
Censored Often
Roar Rookie
It does seem alot of coin for an athletics carnival.
Train Without A Station
Roar Guru
It was possible to run in Melbourne. But Victoria was only interested in hosting the games in regional Vic. Spending more money on top of the infrastructure being built already in Melbourne wouldn't have gone too well.
Adam
Roar Guru
Until Melbourne pull out of hosting any games at the last minute...
Nick
Roar Rookie
basically humiliated our country across the world. It hasn't. I live overseas. It's featured a minor mention in the NY Times way down the bottom of the website, an article in CNN and obviously the British papers. It's an internal embarrassment for sure, but no one cares outside.
Nick
Roar Rookie
I find them anachronistic and outdated. I am opposed to them being hosted in Australia on public money. I also would prefer to see them scrapped outright. But if another country wants to waste their public funding on it, or even if Australia they can be run purely on private funding go nuts. The only good thing about the Commonwealth Games was the complete integration of the para-sports.