Optimism about 'brilliantly different' Commonwealth Games despite tickets left unsold
Glasgow does not seem to have the same excitement as it did in 2014, but the Glasgow 2026 chief executive says there is still a ‘buzz’ about the games.
When Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the country was galvanised.
It was the first time the city had ever hosted the Games, with Edinburgh having done so in 1970 and 1986.
The 2014 event was the largest multi-sport event Scotland had ever hosted, with nearly 5,000 athletes from 71 nations taking part in 18 different sports.
Roughly 15,000 volunteers helped out, after some 50,000 people applied.
It was praised as the “best games ever” and Team Scotland celebrated a record haul of 50 medals.
With the SNP Government holding its independence referendum just weeks after the closing ceremony, it came at a time of real excitement for the country in what seemed like a huge moment.
In less than a fortnight’s time, Scotland’s largest city hosts the Commonwealth Games yet again.
But there does not the same buzz about the place.
This is mostly because Glasgow was not supposed to be hosting the games at all.
Glasgow saves the day
The 2026 Commonwealth Games was supposed to be held in Victoria, Australia.
The games were supposed to be held in several regional cities outside of the state capital Melbourne in March this year.
But after the projected costs spiralled to at least £3 billion, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Deputy Premier Jacinta Allen announced in July 2023 that the state government intended to cancel the games.
This meant that there was no host just three years out from the games, and there was a risk that the 2026 edition may not happen.
There were some concerns about what this would mean for the future of the Commonwealth Games overall.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan said the UK capital was “ready” to bid, while 2018 host the Gold Cost ruled itself out.
The UK Government then said there would be “no UK rescue” for the games.
After Malaysia, Singapore and Ghana all weighed up bids but decided against it, Glasgow stepped up and was announced as the host city in September 2024.
A smaller games
Glasgow took on the games from on the condition that it would be a smaller event and could reuse some venues from 2014.
There is no athletes’ village, and athletes are being accommodated in hotels and student residences.
There are only 10 sports offered at the games - the lowest number since 1994 and seven less than 12 years ago - with contests at four venues - Glasgow International Arena, Scotstoun Stadium, Scottish Event Campus and Tollcross International Swimming Centre. In 2014, there were 14 venues opened up across the city.
These are: 3x3 basketball, artistic gymnastics, athletics, bowls, boxing, cycling, judo, netball, swimming and weightlifting.
But other sports have missed out. These include badminton, squash, hockey, cricket and rugby sevens.
Despite being a popular sport across the Commonwealth, a spokesperson from Cricket Scotland said the slimmed down programme meant “it was obvious that it would be unlikely that cricket could be included and that it is “hopeful that the sport returns to the Games in 2030 in Ahmedabad.”
While a much smaller event, Glasgow 2026 organising company chief executive Phil Batty, reckons the games will secure the future of the Commonwealth Games.
He said: “2014 was a standout success of the games. It will always live in the memory of the Commonwealth sport movement as one of those moments that really defined what major events can do in cities, and particularly in the city of Glasgow, which is a true event city.
“What we know is 2026 is different, but it's brilliantly different. We've got all the traditional moments of games of past, so medal moments, incredible top-down athletes, you know, amazing kind of spectator experience volunteers who are enthusiastic, passionate, and proud.
“But what we've managed to do this time round is deliver that in a smarter, more efficient way with better use of existing resources that treads lighter on the planet and genuinely reformats the event for the future, and you know I don't believe that is about comparison.
“That is about changing the games so that they're future-proofed and in a better format to give back to the Commonwealth for the next 100 years.”
While the Glasgow event generated great excitement across the Glasgow area, Mr Batty also dismissed claims that there was a lack of excitement about this year.
He said: “On the eve of any major event, the momentum starts to build. So my markers for if there is a buzz: Have I got volunteers? Well, I've got thousands of volunteers who are picking up their uniform and their lanyard and rucksack and getting ready to welcome visitors from across the world.
“Have I got the world's greatest Commonwealth athletes competing? Well, yeah, we've got 3,000 across 10 incredible sports.
“Have we got a full velodrome for track cycling with every seat and every ticket sold in that velodrome? Yes, we have.
“And we've got 162 community projects right across the city. That is thousands upon thousands of people who are excited about this games.
“That's my measure of whether people are you know excited and looking forward to to what's to come in two weeks time.”
He added that there has been a big advertising push in recent weeks, with billboards filled across Glasgow so people know the games are coming.
He said: “I don't know if you've walked through the city centre in the last week, but I can't turn for seeing boxing billboards that are saying ‘let's get hooked and let's get on the boxing’.
“I can see [mascot] Finnie on almost every street corner telling people there's a family-friendly live site.
“There is a ‘She Plays Big’ campaign saying if you've never experienced netball before, well this is women's sport at it's absolute best, and those posters are everywhere.
“Buchanan Street is full of lamppost banners. There's a countdown clock in Central Station at Queen Street Station. All the ticket barriers are branded.
“The Union Street corner is just getting its hoardings installed now, at the site of the fire that was there.
“So, if if it exists in Glasgow, I am branding it.
“It is literally wall to wall visibility for the games in this final two weeks.”
Tickets still for sale
There are some big stars at the Commonwealth Games.
In the athletics, 10km champion Eilish McColgan, 1500m champ Laura Muir, 1500m world champions Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman are representing Scotland.
For England, There is no Keely Hodgkinson but three-time Olympic medal holder Dina Asher-Smith, World Indoor 1500m champion Georgia Hunter-Bell, and double world champion heptathlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson are taking part.
Olympic gold medallist Daniel Wiffen is representing Northern Ireland in the swimming, while twice Olympic champion Duncan Scott is representing Scotland.
Despite lots of big British talent, not all of the events have sold out yet.
The cheapest tickets for medal events are £26 for medal sessions and £17 for non-medal sessions, although prices vary depending on the sport.
Mr Batty was not concerned about sales. He said: “We've got really strong ticket sales across the board.
“There are 215 gold medals up for grabs for this games. So you know we know that different sessions will attract different audiences, depend on the day of the week, the time of the week, and the kind of focus of of the particular competition that's happening on that day.
“The sales are strong. We're in a really good position with hundreds of 1000s of people filling our venues across the competition program.
“Of course, there are more tickets still to go. There's still two weeks till the event.
“Birmingham sold one in five of its tickets during the games itself. That is very typical of any major event, not just Commonwealth Games.”
Lasting legacy
The smaller version of the games is reflected in the budget.
The 2014 budget was £575.6 million. This time round it is just £160 million.
The Victorian state government has stumped up most of the cost - some £100m. The rest has been made up through “broadcast rights deals, merchandise sales, ticket revenue, plus some other contributions from sponsors and partners.”
This means it is at no significant cost to the taxpayer. But Mr Batty says Glasgow will benefit from renovated sports facilities.
Mr Batty said: “All of that has gone on ensuring we've got world-class facilities, so we've spent you know millions of pounds reinvesting in these facilities because you know Tolcross is an international swimming centre for a Commonwealth Games.
“It's also the local pool where people will take their kids to learn to swim for the first time the week after the games.
“So if we can leave that with refurbished seats, new lighting, better starting blocks in, that's a gift back.
“It’s the same at Scotstoun. Whilst it's the home to the Warriors and the rugby day to day, it's also a community running club for Victoria Park Athletics Club, and we've left them with a brand new world class, state of the art, mondo dynamic athletics track at the end of the games.”
The opening ceremony for the 2026 Commonwealth Games takes place at the Hydro on Thursday, July 23. It closes on Sunday, August 2.
After that will be when its success will be looked at.
Glasgow will have shown whether or not the Commonwealth Games can have a future in a slimmed down format.
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.