By: Nina He

The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The Commonwealth of Nations, founded in 1931, is a political association of 56 member states, in which most of them are former territories of the British Empire. It is not a mandatory decision to be a member. Any state can join, regardless of its intersection with Britain’s colonial past.

This year, the mayor of the Gold Coast and sporting groups have been trying very hard to save the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games are in doubt after the Australian state of Victoria canceled its plans to host the Games there due to budget blowouts, squashing the hope of the Games.

However, a new spark of hope lit after Australia’s richest person decided to join them: Gina Rinehart, a billionaire who owns Hancock Prospecting, a mining company.

Cr Tate said that the Games could be held in the Gold Coast for a cost a bit over one billion dollars, but the state and federal governments said no and that Queensland should be getting ready to host in 2032.

“Having seen the joy that athletes and their families experienced when competing in front of a home crowd for the 2018 Gold Coast Commonwealth Games, Ms. Rinehart would certainly welcome the 2026 event to again be held in Australia, especially at the Gold Coast, where it was run so successfully before,” said Ms. Rinehart’s spokesperson.

Cr Tate said that it was “fantastic” that Ms. Rinehart was helping the Gold Coast’s Commonwealth Games bid to host the event.

“We must show what we are capable of as a country,” he said. “The Aussie athletes deserve it, as does every young kid who dreams of representing their country.”

A survey done on the website of the Gold Coast bulletin and The Courier-Mail had found most of the 1,000 people that helped the bid.

Governor Tate also said that he hasn’t asked for extra money from the Australian Government to help the event, instead asking that the excess money from the Victorian Games be sent to the Gold Coast for hosting the Commonwealth Games.

Kev Hasemann, the owner of Swimming Queensland said that he was right next to Ms. Rinehart and Cr Tate to save the Commonwealth Games.

“The Commonwealth Games give Australia’s best swimmers a vital opportunity to hone their racing skills for the pinnacle events on the world stage: the World Aquatics Championships and the Olympic Games,” said Hasemann.

The Commonwealth Games, last held in Gold Coast, 2018, led to the Aussie swim team dominating in the Tokyo Olympics in 2021 and the 2023 World Championships in Fukuoka, he said.

“Their performance in Fukuoka has now placed Australia as the top swimming nation in the world.”

The Commonwealth Games 2026 are now with renewed hope like a roaring fire.