It appears the Commonwealth Games might have been saved from the brink of oblivion after a last minute change of heart by the Scottish government and a goodwill gesture from Australia.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) announced Tuesday that it is now finalizing paperwork with Scottish officials to elect Glasgow to host a scaled-down 2026 Games after the government ended a months-long stalemate and agreed to support the project.
“We will work closely with CGS [Commonwealth Games Scotland] to positively conclude final stakeholder discussions with the aim of formally announcing Glasgow as the host city for 2026 as soon as possible.”
CGS officials sent plans to the Scottish government in May to host a light version of the Games using legacy from the Glasgow 2014 edition and proposing fewer sports with less athletes. The CGF promised to invest 100 million pounds (USD $130 million) and Glasgow officials said the event could be privately funded without taxpayer involvement and would provide a much needed injection of funds into Scottish sport.
But the government had doubts and politicians were concerned that they might eventually be on the hook for cost overruns if things didn’t work out as planned. There seemed to be little progress for months as all parties remained silent.
Over the past weekend reports emerged that Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA) extended a multi-million-pound offer to Glasgow to support the city’s ambitions to host, and ultimately save, the 2026 Games. That payment is on top of the 100 million pound offer by the CGF that is funded by a penalty paid by the Australian state of Victoria after it backed out of hosting the Games last year.
It is unclear if the Australian offer of 2.3 million pounds (USD $3 million) influenced the decision by the Scottish government, but CGF president Chris Jenkins said in a statement that is shows a “strong sign of the support and excitement for the concept within the wider Commonwealth Games Movement.”
Jenkins said finalizing a deal could save the Commonwealth Games from its existential crisis caused after many nations walked away from plans to bid and host for the quadrennial event.
“We believe Glasgow 2026 will be an important first step in our commitment to reset and reframe the Commonwealth Games as a co-created, sustainable model that minimizes costs, inspires athletes, and excites Hosts and International Federations,” he said.
How We Got Here
The path to the CGF’s current predicament started almost ten years ago when 1978 Games host Edmonton, Canada bowed out of the 2022 race due to the global drop in oil prices that severely impacted the Alberta’s provincial government budget. That left only Durban in the race, and the South African city was elected unopposed only a few months later making it the first potential host on the African continent.
Durban struggled to organize the Games and in 2017 the CGF canceled the host contract after key milestones were missed and the Games were at risk. At the time, the 2026 bid campaign was already heating up and interest had been expressed for those Games from among Liverpool, Birmingham, London, Manchester, Kuala Lumpur, New Delhi and Melbourne. Near the deadline only a few months later Birmingham along with Victoria, Canada and Kuala Lumpur remained interested – but only Birmingham had met the requirements and was awarded the Games.
That took Birmingham out of the 2026 race and further delayed the campaign that had to effectively restart.
The CGF struggled to find new candidates for a 2026 race, with interest emerging from Canada, Australia and Asia but none with any solid government commitments. The Covid pandemic further hampered efforts as nations rightly prioritized health and economic issues over event planning. The CGF pitched the Games as a tool for regional pandemic recovery, but interest remained tepid.
Meanwhile Hamilton, Canada put together plans to bid for the 2030 centennial edition – hoping to bring the Games back to the city for the first time since it was inaugurated. Organizers said the sentimental connection to the anniversary was key to a successful Games. The CGF urged the city to consider hosting in 2026 instead and offered Hamilton an exclusive window to submit a proposal to host those Games.
The bid committee made the pivot and explored the new opportunity, but Hamilton’s city council was cautious due to the shortened time span, missed centennial opportunity and the risks associated with Covid recovery. Ultimately the bid was scuppered by the Ontario provincial government after it denied necessary funding for the event that would take place just weeks away from FIFA World Cup matches in nearby capital Toronto.
The CGF reopened up its search for a 2026 host while reports surfaced that Sri Lanka, Australia and Victoria in Canada were considering entering bids.
But it was the state of Victoria in Australia that in 2022 earned an exclusive window to bid for the Games, and two months later was elected to host the 2026 Games.
Fifteen months later in July 2023 Victoria had second thoughts and its premier pulled the plug on the Games, backing out of the contract and leaving the CGF without a host only three years before the opening ceremony. The premier blamed budgetary concerns for the cancelation, claiming estimated costs had more than doubled from (AUD) $2.6 billion to as much as $7 billion. The CGF blamed scope creep for the additional costs, accusing Victoria officials of ignoring advice and adding additional sports and venues to plans that were not necessary.
The CGF hoped to sign a deal with Glasgow last May, but the Scottish government had yet to approve plans.
GamesBids.com contacted the CGF several times since May only to be told that more time was needed and “no further updates were available”.
The CGF had toyed with other options to deliver a 2026 Games in an extremely short timeframe including delaying the Games until 2027, or holding events in several nations across the Commonwealth.
There had been interest in staging future editions with more time to prepare – including Alberta for 2030, but the Canadian province dropped those plans after Victoria canceled. New Zealand hopes to host in 2034 or beyond, but without the momentum of a 2026 edition there have been fears that the entire institution could collapse.
