JOHN Swinney has said he would like to see the Commonwealth Games be known as the Chris Hoy Games in honour of the six-time Olympic gold medallist who has recently announced a terminal cancer diagnosis.
Glasgow has been confirmed as the host city for the 2026 Games, though it will be significantly scaled-back version of the event in 2014.
It will feature a 10-sport programme across four venues within an eight-mile corridor, with more than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
On the back of Hoy announcing at the weekend that he has terminal cancer and between two and four years to live, Swinney told reporters at an event in Glasgow that he would be supportive of the competition being referred to as the Chris Hoy Games in a tribute to the Scot’s contribution.
Asked what he thought of the idea, the First Minister (below) said: “Yes I am very supportive of that.
“I couldn’t admire more how he has handled and communicated the news.
“Of course I am conscious that his family have also had to come to terms with the diagnosis his wife has MS which is a situation with which I have great familiarity so my heart goes out to them and I would be very supportive of the Games being referred to as the Chris Hoy Games.”
Just weeks before Hoy learnt he had stage four tumours in his shoulder, pelvis, hip, spine and rib, his wife Sarra was diagnosed with “active and aggressive” MS, he confirmed in his forthcoming memoir All That Matters: My Toughest Race Yet.
Swinney’s wife Elizabeth Quigley also has MS and “much to her frustration” has to rely on her husband for support.
Hoy – who was an official ambassador for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games in 2014 – won six Olympic gold medals in his career, with his first coming in Athens in 2004 before picking up a further four in Beijing in 2008 and two in London in 2012.
He also secured two gold medals at the Glasgow Games in 2014.
On Twitter/X, Swinney previously said he sends “every good wish” to Hoy and his family, adding he is a person of “incredible courage”.
The sports which have been confirmed as being part of the Games in two years are athletics, swimming, track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.
Among the sports missing out compared to the 2022 Games in Birmingham are triathlon, diving, hockey, T20 cricket, squash, badminton and rugby sevens.
Swinney has hinted that the already scaled-back programme could be cut further if costs spiral.
He told reporters: "I had to be assured about costs because there just can be no public fund contribution to this.
"What we managed to negotiate was a substantial investment from the Commonwealth Games Federation of about £100 million but a contingency of about £24 million which will be drawn on should that be necessary.
"But then also a commitment that if all of that is not sufficient then the Games programme has got to be reduced so there is no call on the public purse."
While he accepted the “tough times” financially, Swinney said it is important to “celebrate excellence”, while touting the estimated £100m in inward investment the Games will bring to Scotland’s biggest city.
