GREATER Shepparton City Council is seeing the culmination of more than five years work come to fruition with the announcement from the Victorian State Government last week that they will bid for a regional cities 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“Regional Victoria is ready to welcome the Commonwealth Games”, Regional Cities Victoria Chair and Mayor of Greater Shepparton, Cr Kim O’Keeffe said.
“I am absolutely thrilled for our region and for all of Victoria. We have been involved in the development of a regional cities model for a number of years with a pre-feasibility study completed in early 2020. This was contributed to by the State Government and several regional councils including Shepparton, Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo,” said Cr O’Keeffe.
“The Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006 was a great success. A Victorian Commonwealth Games in 2026, hosted across the state, will be an event to remember, and will show the world what Victoria has to offer.”
Regional cities are well placed to support such an event with the potential to create significant economic and social opportunities for local businesses and the community.
“This will be the economic boost that our region and many regional areas need after two years of pandemic impact,” said Cr O’Keeffe.
