COMMONWEALTH 2026: BLESSING OR CURSE?
It’s been just over a decade since Glasgow last hosted the Commonwealth Games - we just can’t get enough. It’s no surprise, given that these games were hailed as the ‘best in 84-year history’ by the BBC, selling 1.2 million tickets, encouraging 15,000 local volunteers and raising £5 million with UNICEF. With the games returning so soon, are we destined for another successful run, or could this be detrimental to the local community?
As with any major event, one of the prominent gains is the employment opportunities it brings. And these games? Approximately 250 of those jobs, with volunteering spots to spare. The company helping to deliver these games, Trivandi, has promised 60% of these jobs to go people of Glasgow and the local community, with specific attention on recruiting ‘unemployed people, students and people with accessibility needs.’
Working with an event as widely recognised as the Commonwealth also will give people the opportunity to gain skills that they would rarely get elsewhere. The only issue: the Games only run for about two weeks, so these jobs are, rather irritatingly, not permanent. But, according to Trivandi those able to secure a position will leave with experience to ‘lead major events across Scotland and beyond’. Whilst these games will still attract tourism and sporting fans from around the world, it will be on a much smaller scale than its 2014 counterpart. The Scotsoun Arena, aiming to host the rugby events, can only hold 9700 spectators, far less than the 44,000 housed in Hampden ten years ago. Whilst fans may struggle more for tickets, the change in venue has come at a far lesser cost than 2014, a relief for the taxpayer. Choosing venues run by Glasgow Life is certainly cost effective, but comes as a hit to other popular venues from the 2014 Games, and brings the sport list down to ten from 2014’s seventeen, with badminton and hockey taking hits.
But Glasgow Council needs to be careful, after Birmingham Council practically went bankrupt in 2023 in the aftermath of the Games. But by re-using past venues, and with the generous donation of £2.3m from the Australian Government after falling through to host, Glasgow Council is putting its best foot forward to put on internationally renowned games on a budget, with, supposedly, no cost to the tax-payer. Will it live up to the legacy of 2014? With far less ambition and money, the answer is probably not. However, if there’s anything Glasgow does well, it’s bringing an atmosphere wherever we go.
Whilst Glasgow hosting these games may have its’ consequences that comes with supporting any global event, the opportunities and experiences it will bring to this community is undeniable. When these Games last came here in 2016, I was eight years old, with little to no interest in sport whatsoever. But being dragged to these games may have been one of the best choices we ever made. Glasgow has the infrastructure and the capability to hold an incredible event twice in 12 years, opening up doors for young people and adults alike to experience sports with world-class athletes. To me, that opportunity is priceless. And when looking logistically at Glasgow hosting an event that creates volunteering and career opportunities and also give the people of Glasgow an unforgettable experience, I fail to see how this could be in any way destructive. As the old saying goes, ‘People Make Glasgow’. So let’s give the people, and those from around the world, the chance to come together and celebrate sport in this remarkable city.