Glasgow to host 2026 Commonwealth Games

Glasgow has officially been selected to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, with the Scottish city preparing to deliver a more streamlined version of the prestigious multi-sport event.

The future of the 2026 Games was uncertain after Victoria, Australia, initially chosen as the host, pulled out last year due to escalating costs.

However, the Scottish government gave its approval for Glasgow to step in last month, and on Tuesday, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) confirmed that Glasgow, which successfully hosted the event in 2014, will once again take center stage. The Games are set to run from 23 July to 2 August 2026.

This edition of the Games will feature a reduced program of just 10 sports, a significant decrease from the 19 sports showcased at the 2022 Games in Birmingham, England.

Para sport will once again be fully integrated as “a key priority and point of difference for the Games”, with six Para sports included in the programme.

The schedule will include athletics and Para-athletics (track and field), swimming and Para swimming, artistic gymnastics, track cycling and Para track cycling, netball, weightlifting and Para powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and Para bowls, as well as 3×3 basketball and 3×3 wheelchair basketball.

The CGF said Glasgow 2026 will deliver more than £100 million ($130 million) of inward investment into the city and is projected to support over £150 million of economic value added for the region.

“On behalf of the entire Commonwealth sport movement, we are delighted to officially confirm that the 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place in the host city of Glasgow,” said CGF chief executive Katie Sadleir.

Britain and Australia have staged five of the last six editions between them, but Sadleir believes a slimmed-down model will increase the potential pool of future hosts.

“The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow,” added Sadleir.

“An exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible, and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact — in doing so increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”

The CGF insisted there would be no need for public funding to deliver the Glasgow Games, with Australia providing part of the costs after Victoria’s withdrawal.

Victoria pulled out after citing a projected cost of more than A$6 billion (£3.13 billion, $4.09 billion).

The Commonwealth Games, held every four years, evolved out of the British Empire Games and is still composed mainly of countries once subject to British imperial rule.