Almost $2 million of Victorian taxpayers’ money was wasted promoting the 2026 Commonwealth Games before the event’s cancellation.

Visit Victoria spent $1.9 million of its $26 million marketing budget, a document submitted to a parliamentary inquiry shows.

A promotional video, titled A Games Like No Other, launched at the 2022 Birmingham Games closing ceremony cost almost $590,000 to produce.

Former Victorian governor Linda Dessau was sent to Birmingham in June 2022 for a final bid presentation, with taxpayers footing the $52,143 bill.

Another $5222 was spent on a dinner for the governor and Commonwealth Games Federation on February 28 last year.

It also cost $41,032 to fly Visit Victoria chief executive Brendan McClements to Birmingham and London across three trips.

Polling outfit YouGov was paid $14,000 to research the popularity of the Kabaddi in India earlier this year.

Despite the Games being officially canned on June 18, a contractor was hired to analyse social media coverage from July 24 to July 31 at a cost of $6575.

Mr McClements will be the first witness quizzed on Friday by the parliamentary inquiry into the 2026 Games bid.

Department of Treasury and Finance secretary David Martine will also face a grilling after treasury spent about $1.25 million of its allocated budget in preparation for the Games.

Former premier Daniel Andrews announced the Games cancellation on June 18, citing estimated costs blowing out to up to $7 billion.

A $2.6 billion cost to host the Games in multiple Victorian regional centres was previously confirmed in the May 2022 budget.

Department of Premier and Cabinet secretary Jeremi Moule on Monday told the inquiry he first flagged cost blowouts with Mr Andrews on June 13.

Environment Protection Authority executives will also front the inquiry after concerns were raised about contamination at a former Ballarat saleyards site slated to be turned into an athletes’ village.

– AAP