The Mexican city of Guadalajara has withdrawn as host of the 2017 FINA World Swimming Championships, citing financial problems caused by the global fall in oil prices. The city was awarded the event in 2011, at the same time that Kazan was announced as this year’s host, and has already spent $9.5 million preparing for the championships. However, the organisers said they could no longer afford the $100 million organising costs of the two-week event, as the Mexican Government, which is heavily-reliant on oil revenue, has cut its budget by around 3 per cent. Jesus Mena, Director of the Mexican National Commission for Physical Culture and Sport, said in a statement on Wednesday that, “After reviewing the budget, we have determined that we must inform FINA that Mexico cannot host the World Championships.” The decision seems to have come as a shock to the sport’s governing body, with FINA Executive Director Cornel Marculescu saying, “The Federation was surprised at Mexico’s announcement, given that the investment in organising the championships is largely compensated by the economic and social benefits of holding the event.” Guadalajara might be required to pay a $5 million fine to FINA, who have not yet announced a replacement host city. However, there may be other cities willing to step in: Hong Kong originally bid for both the 2015 and 2017 events, but was ultimately unsuccessful, while Australia, who host the Commonwealth Games in early 2018, have said they are open to discussions with FINA should there be interest in the country stepping in. This is the second time that the host of swimming’s showcase event has dropped out, after Dubai withdrew from hosting the 2013 World Championships. On that occasion, FINA re-tendered the event, with Barcelona selected as the eventual host city. Guadalajara’s withdrawal comes just a week after Canadian city Edmonton pulled out of the race to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, also citing the drop in oil prices as the reason.
