The 2026 Commonwealth Games – SPICe Spotlight

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The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games, will take place in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. This will be the first Commonwealth Games to be held since the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. This eleven-day tournament includes 10 sports and 6 integrated para-sports:

• basketball and wheelchair basketball

• athletics and para-athletics

• swimming and para-swimming

• track cycling and para-track cycling

• weightlifting and para-powerlifting

This year’s medals were designed by The Glasgow School of Art Artist in Residence Militsa Milenkova, inspired by the city’s landmarks, industrial heritage and cultural identity. About 3,000 athletes are expected to participate, representing 74 countries and territories from across the Commonwealth. The official mascot is Finnie the Unicornwhich has a traffic cone as a horn. It was designed with the help of Glasgow schoolchildren.

In 2014, Team Scotland fielded 310 athletes and para-athletes. They won 53 medals – 19 gold, 15 silver and 19 bronze, placing them fourth in the overall medal standings. This year Scotland will have 165 athletes participating in the Games. Team Scotland has announced that they are bringing back their purple-haired Thistle mascot, Clyde.

Find a host city

Glasgow agreed to host the games at relatively short notice after Australia’s Victoria state pulled out as hosts in 2023. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews described the event as “all costs and no benefits”, with media reports citing expected costs of more than AU$6 billion (approximately £3.2 billion). This is not the first time that Commonwealth Games organizers have struggled to find a host. Durban in South Africa withdrew from hosting the 2022 Games due to costs (the Games were hosted by Birmingham that year). Alberta, Canada, was scheduled to host in 2030 but has pulled out. Questions have been asked about the future of the Commonwealth Games, which were founded in 1930 as the British Empire Games and now compete for relevance with a busy calendar of international sporting events.

Financing

The company Glasgow 2026 limitedset up to host the Games, stated that they are “pioneering a significantly more sustainable and innovative model for hosting major events”, which does not involve direct public funding and has a “streamlined budget of £150 million”. The last Commonwealth Games held in Britain, in Birmingham in 2022, had a budget of £778 million. The 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow were held within an hour budget of £543 million. The Scottish Government stated in 2018 that the preparation and implementation of the 2014 Games

estimated in gross terms to have contributed £740 million to Scotland’s gross value added [Gross Value Added] (Of which £390 million went to Glasgow’s GVA) and supported an estimated average of 2,100 jobs per year nationally (1,200 of which were in Glasgow).

According to one report by the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council, the costs of the 2026 Commonwealth Games will come from the Commonwealth Games Federation and commercial arrangements. Some of the money will come from the compensation Victoria paid when they withdrew from hosting. In addition, income is expected from ticket sales and commercial sponsorship. EDF, Britain’s largest producer of carbon-free electricity, was announced on 12 June 2026 as the Official Energy and Utilities Lead Partner of Glasgow 2026 and an Official Partner for all Home Countries; Team Scotland, England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Which sports were missed?

In 2014 there were 17 sports and an athletes’ village. This year’s Games will have a more limited schedule and only four locations. Katie Sadleir, the CEO of the Commonwealth Games Federation, told BBC Sport that “the Games had gotten out of hand – it was too big and it was trying to be a ‘mini-Olympics’”. However, many athletes and sports professionals expressed disappointment at losing a place at the Games. Hockey, diving, wrestling, rugby sevens, cricket, squash, badminton and table tennis have all been axed (there will be no racquet sports at the 2026 Games). At one meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 11 March 2025, Forbes Dunlop, Chief Executive of sportScotland discussed the investments earmarked for sports previously featured in the Games:

“For sports like hockey, which were previously in the games and are no longer in the games, we have not removed the investments. We have done what we could to leave the investments on the table so they could explore other opportunities.”

However, he admitted that these sports would miss out on the profile of participation in the Games.

Broadcasting the Games

Another change for 2026 concerns the broadcasts, with TNT broadcasting the live broadcast of the Commonwealth Games. The subscription channel the BBC outbidwhich had provided free broadcasts since 1954. The BBC said it would continue to talk to Glasgow 2026 organizers about showing as much of the Games as possible through its platforms.

The legacy of 2014

At the meeting of the Health, Social Care and Sport Committee on 3 March 2026, the committee expressed its disappointment at seeing “some of the great facilities that had been built [for the 2014 Games] fell into disrepair, while they were supposed to be part of the inheritance.’ Jon Doig, CEO of Commonwealth Games Scotland, referred to the challenges in the wider facilities network, but noted that “if other facilities had not been built [for the 2014 Games]Then we wouldn’t have the 2026 Games.” Kim Atkinson, chief executive of the Scottish Sports Association, expressed the association’s disappointment that a successful legacy of volunteerism had not been created following the 2014 Games.

The University of the West of Scotland conducted a study questionnaire in 2024 to investigate the longer-term impact of the 2014 Games. They found that a majority of adults surveyed had a very positive view of the 2014 Games, finding that the event:

• Increased civic sense (71%) and national pride (75%)

• Improved international reputation of Scotland (75%)

• Improved access to sports facilities and activities (69%)

• Greater emphasis on public health and physical activity (76%)

• Generated a lasting impact for the host city (69%)

That of the Scottish Government Report 2018 about the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, Legacy notes this

Inheritance is not ‘automatic’ or inevitable; Rather, organizing major events can be used as a ‘catalyst’ for what governments and partners want to achieve. The evidence is clear that major sporting events are not a panacea for long-term social and economic challenges, and even a short-term beneficial economic impact is not guaranteed.

The report notes the risk of creating ‘white elephants’: infrastructure built for an event that is not used afterwards. However, the report also highlights the hard work that has been done to reach communities across Scotland, especially those facing barriers to participation:

Examples from Glasgow 2014 of programs aimed at reaching particular groups included the use of Community Benefit Clauses in Games contracts, the Volunteer Pot for those who needed resources to participate, the Host City Volunteer Programme, the Active East Project and Rugby Scotland’s ‘Sport for Change’ program for young people with learning disabilities.

Ensuring a legacy for 2026

In view of the legacy of the 2026 Games, the Scottish Government has announced Scottish sports summera program of free and low-cost local sporting activities for children and young people, supported by a £20 million fund managed by sportScotland. The National Lottery Community Fund (NLCF). Prices for all programs also announced on 25 March 2026 that they have a further £2.2 million available to support community, arts and sporting activities inspired by the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, made up of £1 million from NLCF, £1 million from Sport Scotland and £200,000 from Creative Scotland.

The Center for Culture, Sport and Events (CCSE) was commissioned by Spirit of 2012 (the social legacy organization established in London in 2012, founded by the National Lottery Community Fund) to create a Outdated network for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow. The Legacy Network was launched in February 2026 at an event attended by stakeholders from organizations including Scottish Athletics, parkrun, Scottish Disability Sport and Scottish Action for Mental Health. The Legacy Network is intended to evolve and expand, with a series of roadshows planned over the coming months, each exploring different aspects of heritage, including sport and participation, social impact and inclusion, creative and cultural activity, and place-based initiatives.

On 23 June, George Black CBE, chairman of the 2026 Glasgow Commonwealth Games, gave a speech Time for reflection in the Scottish Parliament. He mentioned the question that has hovered over the Games in recent years as to whether “events like this still had a place in the modern era”, and said Glasgow 2026 would show that “world-class sport can be organized sustainably, affordably and inclusively” with the team in Glasgow doing something “game changing”.

Amy Jardine, research assistant

Blog image: “Photo WA-4925L” Through public.resource.org is licensed under CC BY 2.0.