Beginning today and continuing through August 2, the iconic Hydro Stadium in Glasgow, located in Scotland’s western Lowlands, will host the opening ceremony of the XXIII (23rd) Commonwealth Games, officially known as the Glasgow 2026 Games.
His Majesty King Charles III, accompanied by Queen Camilla, will lift the curtains on this premier multi-sport event.
As the first Commonwealth Games of His Majesty’s reign, King Charles III will read aloud the message he placed into the King’s Baton on Commonwealth Day, March 10, 2025, at Buckingham Palace to mark the conclusion of a historic 500-day King’s Baton relay journey through all 74 Commonwealth nations and territories, the longest relay in Commonwealth Games history.
For the first time, each nation has crafted and decorated its own Baton to reflect its unique culture and identity.
Throughout its journey, the Relay Baton has also promoted the Commonwealth Clean Ocean Plastics Campaign, run in partnership with the Royal Commonwealth Society, an initiative that united communities for coastal clean-ups and awareness events across the Commonwealth, supporting the goal of preventing a million pieces of plastic from entering Commonwealth waters.
Today, all 74 Batons will be reunited for the first time, symbolising the unity, diversity, and shared values of the Commonwealth.
The Scotland Baton, handmade in the city from sustainably sourced ash, will be presented to His Majesty so that the message hidden within it can be read aloud, marking the official opening of Glasgow 2026.
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event open to athletes from the 74 countries and territories of the former British Empire. Its membership includes a mix of African, Asian, Caribbean, European, and Pacific nations, with King Charles III serving as the symbolic Head of the Commonwealth.
The Games promote a spirit of friendly competition across various sports, including athletics, swimming, and team sports. Originating in 1930 as the British Empire Games, it has evolved to embrace inclusivity by featuring both able-bodied athletes and Para Sports since 2002.
Characterised by values of humanity, equality, and destiny as articulated by the Commonwealth Games Federation, the event fosters not only athletic prowess but also cultural exchange and camaraderie among diverse nations.
This year’s Games is a scaled-back edition following Australia’s Victoria state’s withdrawal from hosting due to spiraling cost projections. Returning to Glasgow for the second time in 12 years, it joins Edinburgh (which hosted in 1970 and 1986) as one of only two cities to have hosted the Games twice in its history.
The 11-day competition will welcome 3,000 athletes competing for 215 gold medals across a 10-sporting disciplines, including six fully integrated Para Sports.
The events will be hosted in four venues within an eight-mile corridor, ensuring an action-packed broadcast schedule each day and making the event accessible and appealing to spectators.
The disciplines will include: 3×3 basketball, 3×3 wheelchair basketball, artistic gymnastics, athletics and para-athletics (track & field), bowls and para-bowls, boxing, track cycling and para-cycling, judo, netball, swimming and para-swimming, weightlifting and para-powerlifting.
The Games will take place across four venues: Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow International Arena, and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), which includes The Hydro, SEC Armadillo, and SEC Centre.
Team Ghana (then Team Gold Coast) made its first appearance at the 1954 edition of the Games held in Vancouver, British Columbia. Since then, Ghana has participated in 17 other Commonwealth Games, missing the 1986 Edinburgh Games due to a widespread political boycott.
Ghana, alongside 31 other African, Asian, and Caribbean nations, withdrew in protest of British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher’s refusal to impose economic sanctions against the apartheid regime in South Africa.
In its 17 Commonwealth Games appearances, Team Ghana has amassed a total medal haul of 63—15 golds, 20 silvers, and 28 bronze medals, ranking as the 18th best country on the all-time medal table.
Team Ghana’s performance at the last edition in Birmingham equaled its best outing which was at the 1998 Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, where the team secured five medals: three bronze, one silver, and one gold medal won by boxer Raymond Narh.
Boxers Abraham Mensah and Joseph Commey each earned a silver medal, while fellow boxer Abdul Wahid Omar, 200m runner Joseph Paul Amoah, and long jumper Deborah Acquah brought home bronze medals from Birmingham.
Captained by 200m runner Joseph Paul Amoah, Team Ghana heads into Glasgow with a 40-member team looking to build on its rich Commonwealth Games legacy. Athletes are expected to challenge for medals across nine disciplines: athletics, boxing, judo, para-athletics, para-powerlifting, para-swimming, swimming, track cycling, and weightlifting.
In athletics, Ghana will be represented by Abigail Abugire (800m), Deborah Acheampong (100m, 4x100m), Afrifa Anita (200m, 4x100m), Evonne Britton (100mH, 4x100m), Lovina Ewusi (400mH, 4x100m), Rose Yeboah (high jump), Joseph Paul Amoah (200m, 4x100m), and Benjamin Azamati (100m, 4x100m).
The remaining athletes include Mustapha Bokpin (200m, 4x100m), Isaac Botsio (100m, 4x100m), James Dadzie (200m, 4x100m), Mammoudu Baba Seidu (400mH), and Abdul Rasheed Saminu (100m, 4x100m).
Boxing will feature Nancy Bamfo (54kg), Adelaide Dede Djabatey (57kg), Quaye Ramatu (51kg), Ebenezer Ankrah (60kg), Amadu Mohammed (55kg), Jibril Muntari (90kg), Precious Akai Nettey (70kg), Abdul Wahid Omar (65kg), Desmond Pappoe (80kg), and Daniel Plange (+90kg).
Swimming will be represented by Nubia Adjei (50m backstroke, 50m freestyle), Unilez Takyi (50m freestyle, 100m freestyle), Abeiku Jackson (50m butterfly, 50m backstroke), and Ivan Snowden (50m freestyle, 50m backstroke).
Cycling will feature Erica Sedzro and Emmanuel Sackey, both competing in track cycling. Judo will have Fremah Agyei (57kg) and Elizabeth Oduro (63kg), while Haruna Tahiru (170kg+) will compete in para-powerlifting. Promise Aheto will compete in para-swimming in the 50m freestyle and 50m/100m breaststroke events.
Para athletics will include Botsyo Nkegbe (1,500m T54), Issah Zinabu (shot put F57), and Hayford Addai (100m T47).
Finally, Ghana’s weightlifting team will consist of Yayra Akos Agozi (58kg), Abdul Salim Adjei Adjetey (110kg), Emmanuel Amo Boateng (71kg), and Christopher Osei Forrster (94kg).
The President of the Commonwealth Games Association of Ghana (CGA-Ghana), Mr. Richard Akpokavie, has expressed strong belief in Team Ghana’s ability to earn a podium finish in most disciplines.
Following the team’s intensive pre-Games training and acclimatisation camps, he is hopeful that the country’s proud tradition of medal success will once again lead discussions after the Games.
BY RAYMOND ACKUMEYS
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