The Scottish government has backed Glasgow’s bid to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games in a scaled-down version of the event. The city previously hosted the multi-sport event in 2014, which featured a lavish opening ceremony at Celtic Park and 17 different sports. The 2026 version will see 10 sports take place across four venues in the city, with no athlete’s village, and any opening and closing ceremonies are expected to be scaled back. Health and Sport Minister Neil Gray held talks with Commonwealth Games Australia, which had originally been chosen to stage the Games but withdrew as host due to rising costs, to finalise the deal.
Australian authorities have promised “a multi-million pound investment” to help finalise the new deal, and they have contributed £2.3m to “enhance the event”. Glasgow is one of the few cities in the Commonwealth that can deliver given its world-class facilities and experienced workforce. The Games will come at no cost to the public purse, with funding coming from compensation paid to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) after the Australians pulled out. The UK government will provide financial support in the event of any increased security threat but had refused to completely underwrite the Games.
Gray has every confidence that Scotland’s largest city will provide a fitting platform for some of the world’s top athletes, and that it is a testament to Glasgow and Scotland’s fantastic reputation for hosting international events. CGF president Chris Jenkins said it would work closely with Commonwealth Games Scotland to formally announce Glasgow as the host city as soon as possible. The total budget for the Games is expected to be about £114m. Scottish Labour leader Anas Sarwar said this was their chance to showcase Glasgow and Scotland on the international stage and bring investment and tourism.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has struggled to find hosts for the games in recent years. Durban was supposed to be the first city in Africa to stage the games in 2022, but they were stripped of hosting rights in 2017 after running into money troubles. Birmingham and the British government intervened to save the event, stumping up a combined $1bn for what became the best attended games on record. Victoria then dropped out in July 2023, leaving Glasgow stepping in to replace them
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