Four-hub Games can work: Vic 2026 boss

VICTORIA 2026 organisers have said they are confident they can make the regional Commonwealth Games a success despite the challenging logistics of hosting events across four different regions.

The Games will be held from 17 to 29 March, 2026 across Ballarat, Geelong, Gippsland and Bendigo.

Given the distance between the four regional hubs, it would be impractical to attend events at two different regions in one day.

Speaking in Birmingham on Sunday, Victoria 2026 chief executive Jeroen Weimar said each hub would have well-organised transport and scheduling that encouraged spectators to spend the day in one place instead of taking lengthy road trips.

For example, all events in Bendigo would be within walking distance of the CBD, while athletics and boxing in Ballarat will both be at the same Eureka Park complex.

“We will absolutely concentrate on making the hubs work and that’s why the hub model for us is really important,” Mr Weimar said.

“We will be actively putting a transport solution in place that ensures that people will go to Geelong for the day and will be able to see five or six or seven world-class sports within Geelong.

“We’re not realistically going to be encouraging spectators to say ‘I’m going to do a morning of Rugby Sevens then an afternoon of swimming’ – that will be a very logistically challenging thing for the public to do.”

The MCG will host the opening ceremony but athletics will be held at Ballarat’s Mars Stadium.

The MCG was used to great success for athletics in Melbourne in 2006 but Weimar said upgrading and filling the smaller Ballarat ground was a more appealing option.

“Alexander Stadium (in Birmingham) last night was absolutely pumping because it’s a 30,000 capacity stadium which is completely rammed full. That’s what creates the atmosphere,” Mr Weimar said.

“We’ve all known that when you sit in a 100,000 seater stadium and it’s got 30,000 people, it feels deathly.

“So we would much rather have venues that are packed full of people that are energised, that are focused and I think that’s why the regional games work really well.”

Mr Weimar also said organisers were having ongoing conversations with AFL and Formula One about their calendars but stressed they wouldn’t move the Games dates.

There are 16 sports, including six para sports, locked in for Victoria 2026 and Mr Weimar anticipated “three or four more” would be added, with Games organisers keen to attract a younger audience.

He said around 20 international sports federations had expressed interest but sports need to enter their submissions by 19 August.

“We want sport where we’re going to see significant participation across the Commonwealth,” Weimar said.

“We don’t just want to be in an England-Australia shootout for every final.”

Track cycling is among those yet to be included in the program but Weimar said there had been conversations with the UCI.

– BY ANNA HARRINGTON/ AAP