Alberta’s government has stopped backing a bid to host the Commonwealth Games in 2030 because costs are going up.

Tourism and Sport Minister Joseph Schow said that the bill was expected to be C$2.7 billion (£1.5 billion; $2 billion), which was “too much for the province to handle.”

“We’re sorry to hear that Alberta is no longer working on its bid proposal,” the organizer of the Games said.

Australia dropped out of holding the 2026 Games in Victoria last month because of budget problems.

Since Alberta dropped out, there are no other serious bids to host the 2030 Games right now.

In a statement, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) thanked everyone who helped with the application and said it thought the Canadian province “could be a fantastic host” for the Commonwealth Games in the future.

Alberta’s first plan was for the games to take place over 11 days in August 2030. Competitions and events were to be held in Calgary, Edmonton, the Tsuut’ina Nation, and the Enoch Cree Nation.

The CGF said that talks were “ongoing” with other possible speakers.

In a statement about Alberta’s withdrawal, Mr. Schow said that the corporate sponsorship plan and limited broadcast revenues would have put 93% of costs and risks on taxpayers.

He insisted that the government wanted to be clear about how money was spent and show a return on investment.

“That’s why we’ve decided not to keep going with the bid for the Commonwealth Games in 2030.”

Are the Commonwealth Games over now?
According to Reuters, the provincial government of Alberta said it would spend up to C$2 million (£1.2 million) and the city of Edmonton would spend another C$1 million (£590,000) to see if it would be possible to host the Games.

Before making an official bid, Commonwealth Sport Canada had planned to finish a feasibility study this month.

The office of Calgary Mayor Jyoti Gondek told CBC, Canada’s national public broadcaster, that the plan was over because the province didn’t back it.

“The provincial government’s decision to pull out of Alberta’s bid process for the 2030 Commonwealth Games means that the bid and the City of Calgary’s participation are over,” said the statement.

The Commonwealth Games are a multi-sport event that happen every four years. The only time they haven’t happened is when World War II was going on.

Participants must be from one of the 56 countries that make up the Commonwealth in order to be able to take part in the games. Most of the Commonwealth countries used to be a part of the British Empire.

This year, Hamilton, Ontario, which held the first Olympics in 1930, gave up its bid because the group behind it couldn’t get government support.

On July 18, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said that the 2026 event would cost A$2.6bn (£1.4bn; $1.8bn) and would be a huge boost for the regional towns that would host it.

But he told reporters that the cost of putting on the 12-day games had gone up to more than A$6bn.

“In this job, I’ve had to make a lot of tough calls and tough choices. Mr. Andrews said, “This is not one of them.”

Victoria’s move was “hugely disappointing,” according to the CGF, which added that it was “committed to finding a solution.”

Humza Yousaf, the first minister of Scotland, has said that he is open to ideas that Scotland could host at least some of the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

In 2014, the event was held in Glasgow, and according to government estimates, it cost around £543 million ($691 million).

Sadiq Khan, the mayor of London, said he would back a bid for the city to host in 2026, but he said the government would have to make the final choice.