Christchurch Mayor Phil Mauger believes the Commonwealth Games 2026 could be held in Christchurch.

The Australian state of Victoria will not host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, after the state premier, Daniel Andrews, said the cost had blown out and he was not prepared to redirect money from other parts of his government’s budget to make up the shortfall.

Mauger told Chris Lynch the games could be held in Christchurch.

“I was lucky enough to live across the road from the Commonwealth Games in 1974. The feeling of the city was outstanding.

“So let’s see if we can jump in. The New Zealand The Olympic Committee are the ones that push it and do it. And if they think there’s a glimmer of hope that we can, I think we should push in and do as much as we can.

“We can share the love around New Zealand and send the rowing and cycling up to Cambridge or the cycling to Invercargill.

“There’s plenty of options. We’ve got a lot of facilities and Metro sports and the stadium will be finished by the time the games start.

“We’ve got everything we need to be able to do if we shared it around. The FIFA Women’s Cup is shared between Australia and New Zealand, just shared around.