INTERNATIONAL: The Australian state of Victoria will host the 2026 Commonwealth Games across four regional hubs in a break from the traditional single-city model, the government said on Tuesday 12th April.

With no other countries outside Australia making a bid, Victoria was granted an exclusive negotiating period to secure the Games in February.

Victoria capital Melbourne hosted the 2006 Games and will stage the 2026 opening ceremony at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, but the sports will be spread far and wide. Each of the regional hubs in Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland will have their own athletes' village.

The quadrennial Games, a multi-sport gathering for mostly former British colonies, has struggled to remain relevant, with four of the last five editions held in Australia or Britain. English city Birmingham will host the 2022 Commonwealth Games from July 28 to August 8.

"As President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, I'm absolutely delighted to announce that the 2026 Commonwealth Games has been awarded to Victoria. Well done."

PRESIDENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH GAMES FEDERATION, DAME LOUISE MARTIN, HAD SAID:

"These will be a Commonwealth Games like no other. We promised that we wouldn't be doing a rerun of 2006, as successful as that was. The opening ceremony will be in Melbourne and the rest of the program -- all the events -- will be conducted in regional Victoria."

"All the events - those 16 sports and others that will be added in, between now and the end of the year, all of those events will be conducted in regional Victoria, four hubs. Ballarat of course, Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland. There will be sports in each of those four hubs. There will be athletes' villages in each of those four hubs." VICTORIAN PREMIER, DANIEL ANDREWS, SAID