Glasgow gets government go-ahead for 2026 Commonwealth Games
The City of Glasgow has been given the thumbs up by the Scottish government this week and will move forward in its bid to step in and host the troubled 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Last year Former Premier of Victoria, Daniel Andrews, announced the decision to cancel plans to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games citing rising costs throwing the fate of the 23rd edition, and the future of the games themselves, into doubt.
With the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) scrambling to find a replacement, initial rescue plans saw attempts to keep it in Australia with the likes of Gold Coast stepping in to replace Victoria, only to then also withdraw.
Earlier in 2024, Malaysia then touted hosting a scaled-down 2026 Commonwealth Games before deciding against it due to time constraints, costs and an insufficient offer of funding. Singapore soon followed suit declining their eligibility as hosts.
With the withdrawal of numerous host cities, it looked like the 2022 edition could have been the last until Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) announced in April that it had developed a “cost-effective” strategy possibly keeping its future alive with its own slimmed-down version.
This week Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) then pledged multi-million-pound support for Glasgow’s 2026 Games bid throwing it a lifeline and now on Tuesday, the Scottish government announced that it would back the city in its rescue attempt.
Glasgow’s plan is to reduce the games to around 10 sports across four different venues instead of the 19 that took place at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. It would be eight less than the city 10 years ago when it last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014.
According to CGA, the majority of costs will be funded by compensation paid to the global CGF by Victoria but it has agreed to inject a further £2.3 million ($2.73 million) to help cover Glasgow’s security costs.
This, it says, will save and “reset” the multi-sport event’s brand as its future hangs by a thread.
The turmoil around who will host comes at a time when more and more high-profile athletes have decided to skip the Commonwealth Games somewhat reducing its image.
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games will be the fourth time it has been held in Scotland after it was held in Glasgow in 2014 and twice in Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986.
So far the only two sports confirmed in the proposal for the scaled-back version are swimming and track and field. -Insidethegames
