The future of the Commonwealth Games is at a crossroads due to growing questions about its relevance, financial viability and ability to attract the biggest stars in world sport. True, the most recent edition in Birmingham 2022 was a success in terms of attendance and excitement, but its legacy has been marked by a significant financial shortfall, with an estimated cost of £778 million, something that weighs on the edition due to be held in 2026 and which has Glasgow as the city called to champion a new business model.
When Victoria, Australia, pulled out of hosting the 2026 Games, the investment projections amounted to nearly $3 billion. The state auditor’s harsh report called the organization “a waste of taxpayers’ money” with no “clear benefit” and raised the question of whether the Commonwealth Games could survive.
However, despite these difficulties, the Games have found a new opportunity: Scotland, and specifically Glasgow, has been designated to host the 2026 edition, but under a new model that promises to be radically different from previous editions: smaller, cheaper and without the lavish ceremonies and decorations to which the public is accustomed.
GLASGOW 2026 HAS A LOW COST MODEL
Instead of the usual 19 sports, Glasgow will host only 10. The budget has been reduced to less than $100 million. As part of the agreement, some existing sports facilities, such as the Tollcross swimming center, will be upgraded, but expensive new infrastructure construction will be avoided. In addition, athletes will be housed in university residences and hotels, rather than in a new Olympic Village.
One of the most striking aspects of this new model is that almost the entire budget comes from the compensation Victoria paid to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) after withdrawing in July 2023. Of the nearly €100 million, about €85 million will come from that compensation, which means that no public money from Scotland will be used to fund the Games, as they recall in ‘The Guardian’.
Proponents of this new approach believe that a more modest version of the Games could be the key to its long-term survival, but there are other more skeptical voices who give the example of the use of the 9,708-capacity Scotstoun Stadium for the athletics competitions instead of Hampden Park, which held 44,000 spectators when Glasgow hosted the Games in 2014. Is this a sign of the Games’ decline or the new path to sustainability and their survival?
THE WORLD’S BEST ATHLETES
If the best go, it will appeal to the public and the Commonwealth Games will succeed. So one of the biggest concerns for Glasgow 2026 will be the ability to attract the best athletes. It is not a given that the best athletes from the United States, England, Jamaica, Kenya or Australia will choose to participate as there are already other events with better prize money and, perhaps, more media visibility. To maintain the interest and prestige of the Games, it will be crucial to ensure the presence of world-renowned stars.
Two years remain to see if the Glasgow 2026 Games will mark a turning point for the event and the beginning of a new era that is more modest but true to its purpose of providing a showcase for Commonwealth athletes. However, if it fails, it could well be remembered as the last attempt to save a competition that, in its centenary year, is struggling to find its place in the modern sporting world.
