DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Australian state to pay $243 mln for withdrawing as 2026 Commonwealth Games host
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

SYDNEY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Australia's Victoria state will pay A$380 million ($243 million) to Commonwealth Games organisers, Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday, after it withdrew as 2026 event host citing a projected cost blowout. In a joint statement issued by Andrews on Saturday, the Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships, Commonwealth Games Australia and Victoria said they had "settled all their disputes regarding the cancellation of the multi-hub regional Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games". "The State of Victoria has agreed to pay the Commonwealth Games parties ... AUD $380 million," the statement said. "The parties also agreed that the multi-hub regional model was more expensive to host than the traditional models." ($1 = 1.5620 Australian dollars)Reporting by Sam McKeith in Sydney; Editing by Sonali PaulOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

Persons: Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews, Andrews, Victoria, Sam McKeith, Sonali Paul Organizations: SYDNEY, Commonwealth Games, Victoria Premier, Victoria, Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Federation Partnerships, Commonwealth Games Australia, Thomson Locations: Victoria, Alberta, Sydney

☆ Gold Coast offers to host 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria withdrawal
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

July 20 (Reuters) - Gold Coast mayor Tom Tate said on Thursday the city could step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after Victoria placed the future of the quadrennial multi-sport event in doubt by pulling out due to projected cost overruns. Tate told Australian media that the Gold Coast, which hosted the Games in 2018, had the infrastructure in place to put the event on. The Gold Coast lies south of Brisbane, which will host the 2032 Summer Olympics. "As witnessed in 2018, the Gold Coast demonstrated its remarkable ability to host a Games of exceptional quality, and one that left a profound impact on Australian sport," the body said in a statement. Australia, by far the Games' most successful competing nation, has hosted five of the previous 22 editions.

Persons: Tom Tate, Victoria Premier Dan Andrews, Tate, we've, I've, Aadi Nair, Peter Rutherford Organizations: Gold Coast, Victoria, Victoria Premier, Games, Athletics Australia, Paralympic Games, Commonwealth Games, Thomson Locations: Gold, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, Bengaluru

☆ Australia's Victoria pulls out of 2026 Commonwealth Games over cost concerns
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-17 | by ( Ian Ransom | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

MELBOURNE, July 18 (Reuters) - Australia's state of Victoria will not host the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to projected cost overruns, placing the future of the quadrennial multi-sport event in doubt. "Frankly A$6-A$7 billion for a 12-day sporting event, we're not doing that," Andrews said at a media conference. Andrews said Victoria had already informed the global Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) but the cost of breaking the 2026 contract had yet to be decided. The CGF did not provide immediate comment but local body Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) said the pull-out was "beyond disappointing". The Australian Olympic Committee (AOC), which had spoken of the 2026 Games as a "runway" for hosting the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, said it was "an enormous disappointment" for the athletes.

Persons: Victoria Premier Dan Andrews, we're, Andrews, Victoria, Craig Phillips, John Coates, Chris Minns, CGF, Ian Ransom, Christian Schmollinger, Stephen Coates, Peter Rutherford Organizations: MELBOURNE, Victoria Premier, Commonwealth Games Federation, Commonwealth Games Australia, First Nations Australians, Birmingham, Australia, Games, Australian Olympic, New Zealand Olympic, Olympic, Sydney, South, Thomson Locations: Victoria, Australia, Britain, South Africa, Coast, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland, New South Wales, NSW, South Australia, Western Australia, Hamilton

Many rivers in Victoria, including the Maribyrnong in Melbourne's west and the Goulburn further north, reached major flood levels, prompting the nighttime evacuation of residents. "It's far from over, we'll see waters rise," Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told the ABC. "We'll see more and more waters continuing to rise, more and more houses being inundated, more and more communities being closed off." Andrews said the state's purpose-built COVID-19 quarantine facility, closed last week after Australia scrapped isolation rules, could be reopened to shelter flood-impacted residents. Though heavy rains are expected to ease from late Friday, flooding could continue through the weekend, officials said.

☆ Australians rush to grab sandbags as heavy rain slams southeast
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SYDNEY, Oct 13 (Reuters) - Hundreds of homes in southeast Australia were without power on Thursday and residents filled sandbags as an intense weather system lashed the region, bringing warnings of more heavy rain, damaging winds and flash flooding. "There is a lot more to come," bureau forecaster Jonathan How warned on ABC television. Some dams have begun overflowing for the first time in decades, and flood-weary residents rushed to grab sandbags from emergency crews to protect properties. Utility Powercor reported 475 customers were without power across Victoria after wind gusts of 100 kph (62 mph) knocked down power lines and trees. In Tasmania, emergency services have issued evacuation warnings for some residents of two rural towns in the north, while police began closing several roads because of flooding.

Search resuls for: "Victoria Premier"

5 mentions found