The 2026 Commonwealth Games took a circuitous route before it reached Glasgow.
But, after overcoming many obstacles, and even looking like it may not happen at all, the 2026 Games are about to begin.
That Glasgow 2026 is happening at all is a victory for the Commonwealth Games, and has far greater meaning for the Commonwealth movement than purely ten days of sport.
Having initially been slated to take place in the Australian state of Victoria before its withdrawal from host city duties, several other hosts showed interest before, ultimately, deciding they didn’t want it.
With time running out to find a host, it was announced in late-2024 that Glasgow would step-in and not only save the 2026 Commonwealth Games but also save the future of the Games as a whole which, many observers feared, was at mortal risk had no host been found for this summer’s event.
With Glasgow having hosted a hugely successful Commonwealth Games in 2014, returning to the city was putting the Games in a safe pair of hands.
This 2026 version of the Commonwealth Games will, though, be drastically different to that which took-over, in the best possible way, Glasgow twelve years ago.
This time around, it will be considerably scaled-down, with only ten sports on the programme, just four (existing) venues used and no Athletes’ Village. Such drastic measures were necessary to ensure the budget remained at around £100 million and didn’t run into the hundreds of millions of pounds, as has been the case for previous editions of the Commonwealth Games.
So, what can we expect from Glasgow 2026?
It has not, as yet anyway, captured the public’s attention. Having had to compete with a football Word Cup, and specifically one in which Scotland was competing, was always going to make grabbing headlines difficult. And as its turned out, there is unquestionably an absence of widespread excitement ahead of this Games, with a sense of apathy the prevailing attitude around this Games.
Another significant drawback for Glasgow 2026 is the absence of free-to-air television coverage. The live action will be on subscription service, TNT Sports, and while there will be a highlights package on Channel 5, the absence of BBC coverage - it’s the first time in Games history there’s been no BBC coverage of the event - will damage significantly the reach of Glasgow 2026.
But there is one significant positive for Glasgow 2026, and that’s the quality of the sport that’s going to be on show.
Perhaps the most-anticipated event is the men’s mile, which is being contested instead of the more commonly-raced 1500m.
The Commonwealth Mile, as it will be called, will have a truly world-class line-up, with Scotland’s Josh Kerr and Jake Wightman - both former world 1500m champions - two of the pre-race favourites. The dream scenario would be for the two Scotsmen to be battling each other for gold down the home straight at Scotstoun Stadium.
Similarly, in the pool, the velodrome and the gymnastic arena, there will be truly world-class talent on show.
Read more: Josh Kerr: I want to be known as the best miler in history
Laura Muir: Glasgow 2026 feels like the Olympics to me
The Organising Committee has been tight-lipped about how many tickets have been sold - the exorbitant prices, particularly for medal sessions, have been heavily criticised - and if it turns out there are empty seats in any of the venues, there has to be a serious look at the pricing structure. Lower-priced tickets but full stands is infinitely preferable to making a few more more quid per ticket but having seats lying empty.
With less than a week to go until the Opening Ceremony of Glasgow 2026, there remains huge uncertainty as to quite how successful this event will be.
There is, always, the possibility that once the sport starts, much of the negativity fades away and certainly, after the success of Glasgow 2014, it’s now often forgotten that there was much criticism of the event before the sport started and swept everyone along in a wave of joy and excitement. This will, definitively, not happen to the same extent this time, but there’s always a chance there’s less pronounced but still significant bounce as a result of the Games.
If any city can make a success of this Commonwealth Games, it’s Glasgow. There is no city on the planet that, when it decided to buy into something, does so in quite the manner in which Glasgow does.
But the real challenge for Glasgow 2026 is that it’s beginning from a standing start. Time is running out to generate excitement with the city.
I hope my scepticism about Glasgow 2026 is unfounded. I’d love to reach the Closing Ceremony of Glasgow 2026 and have to admit I was entirely wrong to have been on a down about this Games. I’m sure, at least, that some of the sport will be truly remarkable.
For this Commonwealth Games to be considered an overwhelming success, though, it needs more than a few compelling contests. Rather it needs to draw the people of Glasgow and Scotland in, and that looks to be an almost impossible job.
Whether Glasgow 2026 can do enough to be considered a success, and do enough to save the long-term future of the Commonwealth Games, remains to be seen. Making a success of the 2026 Commonwealth Games is, by some distance, the trickiest challenge the Commonwealth Games has ever had to navigate.
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