Shire seeking slice of Commonwealth Games’ pie

BASS Coast Shire’s Mayor and CEO attended a huge forum which saw dozens of representatives from regional councils, tourism boards and other groups gather to discuss the 2026 Commonwealth Games. 

The Partnership Forum, hosted by the State Government at the Melbourne Cricket Ground last Thursday, consisted of more than 150 partners and provided a comprehensive debrief on learnings from the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games.

Victoria 2026 will run from March 17-29, 2026, with four regional hubs in Gippsland, Ballarat, Bendigo and Geelong and will deliver a multi-city model. 

Sports identified for Gippsland include Badminton, Cycling and Rugby Sevens, with the hub to be based in the Latrobe Valley. 

The shire had hoped to secure sports such as cycling and surfing as part of the 2026 program. 

Following the forum, Mayor Michael Whelan said while it was still unclear if any sports would be based in Bass Coast, they were also pushing for tourism opportunities. 

“We’ll be pushing for the other aspects that go with the games, such as visitation and tourism etc,” he said.

“There can be up to 50,000 people visiting a day at the different venues, so there’s a huge potential for tourism.

“We’ll be working with Destination Phillip Island and Gippsland on that.”

As the Games will see new and upgraded sports infrastructure and athlete villages to become social and affordable housing, Cr Whelan said this also presented another huge opportunity for the shire. 

For more information about the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games, visit vic.gov.au/victoria2026.