1000 DAYS TO GO
Team Wales will travel to Australia in March 2026 for the 23rd Games, which will begin with a stand out event for the Opening Ceremony held at the world famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, before launching into the sports programme the following day at venues across the State of Victoria.
CGW President, Helen Phillips MBE said ‘1000 days to go is an important milestone which enables athletes, officials and sports to focus on what will be a unique Commonwealth Games in Victoria. It’s great to be building momentum to the Games, and the next two and a half years will no doubt go very quickly.
Team Wales always have a warm welcome in Australia and our performances both on and off the pitch have always been applauded. Gold Coast 2018 was our best ever performance away from home and Melbourne in 2006 was another example of an excellent event where we excelled and inspired the next generation of athletes and communities at home.
Our athletes experience remains central in our planning and through our athletes commission and athlete expertise on the board they will have huge influence on our preparations going into the games, this is something we are proud of our new board remain committed to.’
The Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games, held between March 17-29, will be the first time in Commonwealth history that the multi-sport event will be held across a State; Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Gippsland and Shepparton, and whilst the Opening Ceremony will be held in Melbourne, the spectacular Closing Ceremony will be held at Kardinia Park in Geelong.
Head of Operations Matt Cosgrove and Head of Engagement Cathy Williams made the journey over to Victoria earlier this year as part of their site recce, having valuable time on the ground with the Organising Committee, and visiting competition venues and the athlete village locations across each city.
The visit also gave the team an opportunity to source additional accommodation for support staff, potential venues for Team Wales events and a very warm welcome from the local Welsh community.
The five regional hubs will host 20 sports and a record 9 para sports, with Golf and Coastal Rowing making their Commonwealth debut within the sports programme during the 12 days of competition.
Rebecca Edwards-Symmons, Commonwealth Games Wales CEO added ‘Seeing first-hand the work that goes into preparing a team for a Games is astonishing and the team are working very hard to make this a Games to remember.
Victoria 2026 is a very different configuration to previous Games, and we look forward to creating the best atmosphere possible for our athletes to perform at their best. We are also building our Strategy for the future of Tîm Cymru and look forward to sharing this with you in the coming weeks and months. It’s an exciting time for us as a Nation.’