After much speculation, the host cities for the Games were officially announced on Tuesday morning, with Ballarat to host the centrepiece track and field events.

An initial 16 sports have been locked in, although there could be more sports locked in by the end of the year.

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Swimming, athletics, lawn bowls, table tennis and triathlon will host Para sports, while powerlifting will also be included.

Four major athletics hubs will be established in Ballarat, Bendigo, Geelong and Gippsland, with Shepparton also expected to host some events.

The current selection of sports is set to be divided as such:

The state government says the Games will contribute more than $3 billion to the Victorian economy, creating more than 600 full time jobs in the build-up, 3,900 during the Games and 3,000 jobs beyond the closing ceremony.

"It's a great honour to have Victoria chosen as the host venue for the 2026 Commonwealth Games - we can't wait to welcome the world to all of our state," Premier Daniel Andrews said.

This will be the sixth time that Australia has staged the Commonwealth Games.

Commonwealth Games Federation president Dame Louise Martin lauded the work done for regional Victoria to receive the events.

"The Commonwealth Games Federation is absolutely delighted to award the 2026 Commonwealth Games to Victoria," she said.

"Commonwealth Games Australia and the Victorian Government have set out a bold and innovative vision that provides an exciting new blueprint for hosting our major multi-sport event."

Besides Melbourne 2006, they have been staged in Sydney in 1938, Perth in 1962, Brisbane in 1978 and the Gold Coast in 2018.