Commonwealth Games in Glasgow 2026: how it would work, the costs and why there are concerns

Any day now, Glasgow could be announced as the host city for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.

With the sporting public still basking in the warm and fuzzy afterglow of the Paris Olympics, it is hoped the news will be greeted enthusiastically and there won’t be too much carping about cost, disruption and the ongoing relevance of a sporting jamboree whose roots are in the former British Empire.

Organisers would rather we cast our minds back 10 years to the last time Glasgow hosted the Commonwealth Games and delivered a triumphant celebration of both the city and sport across 12 memorable days.

Scottish athletes are led out by judoka Euan Burton at the opening ceremony of the 2014 Commonwealth Games at Celtic Park. (Photo: Craig Williamson/SNS)

It began with Rod Stewart, Karen Dunbar and dancing Tunnock’s tea cakes in a riot of an opening ceremony at Celtic Park and ended at Hampden with Lulu and Kyle Minogue toasting the athletes. Memories linger but among the highlights were Usain Bolt gracing the Hampden track, swimmer Dan Wallace’s Braveheart ‘For Freedom’ cry in the pool, bowler Alex ‘Tattie’ Marshall's clenched fist salute at Kelvingrove Park and the Renicks sisters both winning judo gold at the SECC.

Scotland enjoyed their best-ever medal haul with 19 golds, 15 silvers and 19 bronzes to finish fourth in the table and the hope would be that home advantage could lead to a similar performance in two years’ time.

That’s for then. For now, it’s about ensuring the 2026 Games take place. Victoria’s decision last year to withdraw was a grievous blow and there has been no rush from other nations to replace the Australian state as host. This led to Glasgow coming forward last April with an offer which, if not exactly brimming with enthusiasm, was at least economically astute.

There was no promise of a financial splurge but rather “an innovative solution” should no other host step up. Sure enough, there were no other bids and Glasgow looks to be the last hope of the 2026 event being staged. It’s probably no exaggeration to say that the Commonwealth Games’ very future hinges on this.

Eilish McColgan celebrates after winning the gold medal in the women's 10,000m final at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games at Alexander Stadium. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images)

If Glasgow does come through the emphasis this time will be on sustainability, using the venues that were built for 2014, utilising the city’s existing infrastructure and avoiding significant public investment.

The total budget for the 2014 Games was £575.6 million, £372m of which was public money. This time around Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) says the budget will be £130-150m, “with no significant ask of public funds”. Around £100m will come from the Commonwealth Games Federation which will use the money Victoria paid as compensation when it withdrew due to spiralling costs. CGS says the balance will come from commercial income via ticketing, sponsorship and broadcasting.

Glasgow are able to do it on the cheap because this will be a slimmed-down Games with a core programme of between 10 and 13 sports as opposed to the 18 that featured in 2014. It will mean disappointment for many athletes whose sports will not feature but it is an economic expediency in these straitened times. Aquatics and athletics are the two mandatory sports and the others will be selected on the basis of their ability to fit into the existing venue footprint.

The Commonwealth Arena and Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, built for 2014, would likely play a key role. The huge makeover given to the Tollcross International Swimming Centre 12 years ago means there is an international pool in situ. The Hydro and SECC offer excellent indoor options and work undertaken for 2014 on facilities at Glasgow Green and Kelvingrove on the hockey and bowls arenas ensures they could step up if those sports make the cut.

The big question mark is over athletics. Ian Reid, chair of the CGS, has said that Scotstoun is “the most likely” venue but the stadium’s capacity for Glasgow Warriors rugby matches is below 8,000 and would require a significant upgrade. Hampden hosted athletics in 2014 but the installation of the track saw cup finals and Scotland games moved away from the national football stadium during 2013-14.

Scottish athletics is in such a strong place at the moment and the chance to see the likes of Josh Kerr, Laura Muir, Jemma Reekie and Eilish McColgan competing in a major championship on home soil would be a huge draw.

CGS says the Commonwealth Games is crucial to the health of Scottish sport because it represents the only chance for many athletes to compete for Scotland on a global stage. But it could also be argued it’s crucial for Scottish health. Exposure to such top class sport on our doorstep is likely to encourage greater participation and that is of immeasurable benefit given obesity is such a significant public health concern. In the 2021-22 academic year, 24.1 per cent of primary 1 children in Scotland were at risk of overweight and obesity, an increase on pre-pandemic figures.

But there are legitimate concerns too about Glasgow hosting. The Games’ colonial origins continue to be a millstone and the attitude to homosexuality of many countries in the Commonwealth is another red flag. Tom Daley, the British diver, condemned such homophobia on the eve of the last Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and it’s a shocking truth to consider that homosexuality is a criminal offence in 35 of the 56 nations that make up the Commonwealth.

Daley was rightly applauded for speaking out. Sport as a force for good can be a powerful tool and you would like to think Glasgow has the character and know-how to pull off the 2026 Games at such short notice and turn it into exactly that. It won’t be the all-singing, all-dancing, pure dead brilliant extravaganza we saw in 2014 but it can still be a celebration and a chance to put Scotland on the sporting map.