Before Victoria agreed to host the Commonwealth Games in April 2022, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) struggled to locate a host city.

The planned cost, according to the premier, has now tripled and has become “well and truly too much” for the state to handle.

CGF described the decision as “hugely disappointing,” but stated that it is “committed to finding a solution.”

The Commonwealth Games have only ever been postponed once, during World War II.

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews stated on Tuesday that Victoria was “happy to help out” when asked to host last year, but “not at any cost.”

The event, which was held in places like as Geelong, Bendigo, and Ballarat, was originally predicted to cost A$2.6 billion (£1.4 billion; $1.8 billion) by organizers, and the state government promoted it as a boon to the regions.

However, Mr Andrews stated that the 12-day tournament would now cost more than A$6 billion, which was “more than twice the estimated economic benefit” to Victoria.

“In this job, I’ve had to make a lot of difficult calls and decisions.” “This isn’t one of them,” he said during a press conference.

“That is all cost and no benefit.”

The government will still finish the stadium upgrades promised prior to the games, while reinvesting the savings in housing and tourism initiatives.

Before alerting the CGF of their decision, Mr Andrew stated that the government had studied “all options,” including shifting the games to Melbourne.

He added that “amicable and productive” meetings had taken place in London overnight.

The governing body, however, said in a statement on Tuesday that they were taken by surprise by the decision.