The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Glasgow 2026, was a multi-sport event held from 23 July to 2 August 2026 in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. This is the fourth Commonwealth Games to be hosted in Scotland, following the 1970 and 1986 games in Edinburgh, and the 2014 Games in Glasgow. The 2026 Commonwealth Games is the first to be held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth, and the first edition since Donald Rukare became president of Commonwealth Sport.
For some time, the Games were without a host after the bid from Victoria, Australia for the 2026 Commonwealth Games was withdrawn, Victoria having initially been announced as the host in April 2022. On 18 July 2023, the Victorian state government cancelled its plans due to escalating cost projections. The city of Gold Coast, Queensland, briefly offered to co-host the event but later withdrew for similar reasons. With no host, there was a risk that the Games might be postponed to 2027 or cancelled entirely.
On 11 August 2024, reports surfaced that Glasgow had reached an agreement to take over the hosting rights, but the next day it was clarified that talks were ongoing with no final agreement or imminent announcement. Commonwealth Games Scotland proposed a scaled-back version of the event, featuring 10 to 13 sports and using existing infrastructure, with £100 million in funding from the Commonwealth Games Federation and an additional £30 to 50 million from commercial sources, ensuring no significant public funds would be required. A further update on 30 August 2024 confirmed that the Games would be primarily funded by AU$200 million, secured as compensation from the Victorian government following their withdrawal. In September 2024, the Scottish Government agreed to host the games with financial backing from Commonwealth Games Australia. The scaled-down and low-cost Games featured 10 sports taking place over seven venues and no athletes' village.
Australia topped the medal table for the third consecutive Commonwealth Games, with 70 gold and 171 total medals. England placed second with 29 gold and 110 total medals, while Canada finished third with 19 gold and 62 total medals. The host nation, Scotland, finished fifth behind India, each with 13 gold medals and 29 total medals. Gabon, Rwanda and Tuvalu won their first-ever Commonwealth medals, with Dominica winning their first-ever gold medal.
Host selection
First selection
During the CGF General Assembly on 31 March 2017 in Gold Coast, after the troubled 2022 Commonwealth Games host city bid process, the executive board announced that it had planned to award both 2026 and 2030 Commonwealth Games simultaneously at the CGF General Assembly scheduled for Kigali, Rwanda in September 2019. A new model called CGF Partnerships (CGFP) was implemented which aimed to give stronger support to the associations and cities that show interest in hosting future Games and enhance the overall value of the event. This is similar to the process used by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) since 2017.
In 2015, the South African city of Durban originally won the rights to host the 2022 Commonwealth Games, but was stripped of these rights in 2017 due to financial concerns. As a result, Birmingham moved up its planned Games from 2026 to 2022. This left the 2026 Games without a host and bids from Kuala Lumpur, Cardiff, Calgary, Edmonton and Adelaide were all withdrawn due to concerns over costs, with a hosting decision not made by the Commonwealth Games Federation between 2019 and 2022.
In January 2022, the Victorian State Government announced it was giving serious consideration to a late request from the CGF to host the Games. On 16 February 2022, Premier of Victoria Daniel Andrews confirmed that the state was in exclusive negotiations with the CGF to host the Games. It was stated that if successful in hosting the Games a second time, a Victorian bid would aim to emphasise the state's regional centres—such as Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo—as opposed to being predominantly Melbourne-based, such as in 2006. Bendigo had previously hosted the 2004 Commonwealth Youth Games. Acceptance of the bid would likely also be conditional upon agreement on ways to control costs, such as housing athletes and officials in hotels rather than a dedicated village. This bid was confirmed as successful on 12 April 2022.
On 18 July 2023, the state government intended to cancel hosting the 2026 Games in Victoria. Fifteen months after agreeing to host the Games, Premier Daniel Andrews said the cost had escalated to an estimated 6–7 billion, double the estimated economic benefits for the state, and the government could not justify the expense. The state said it would terminate its host agreement with the Commonwealth Games Federation and seek a settlement of the contract. The withdrawal prompted a new search for a host for the 2026 Games.
+2026 Commonwealth Games bidding results City / regionNationVotesVictoria AustraliaUnanimous (2022)Withdrew (2023)
Second selection
Initial interest
The Mayor of London Sadiq Khan subsequently said he was "ready" to support the London bid to replace Victoria as the host. The First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf also stated that he was "willing to consider proposals" for Scotland to host at least some of the events at the Games.
On 4 December 2023, the Gold Coast ruled itself out of hosting the games. On the same day, the British government confirmed that there would be "no UK rescue" for the games and that they would not be hosted in the United Kingdom, citing that there was no financial appetite or any preliminary planning in place to allow another British city to intervene again after Birmingham 2022.
On 11 March 2024, the Olympic Council of Malaysia revealed that the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) had offered Malaysia approximately £100 million to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games on a smaller scale than initially planned, with discussions ongoing. However, on 22 March 2024, the Malaysian Cabinet declined the offer, stating that the £100 million would be insufficient to cover the event's costs. Furthermore, the Federal Government was unwilling to use taxpayers' money to fund the games, especially given the risk of a scheduling clash with the 2027 SEA Games, also set to be held in Malaysia.
On 14 March 2024, the Singapore National Olympic Council (SNOC), Sport Singapore (SportSG), and Commonwealth Games Singapore (CGS) announced they were exploring the feasibility of hosting the games, including the possibility of a joint proposal with Malaysia to reduce expenses. However, on 3 April 2024, CGS and SportSG confirmed that Singapore would not submit a bid.
On 8 April 2024, the CGF indicated that a new host for the 2026 Games might be announced the following month, and on 9 April 2024, Ghana's Minister for Youth and Sports, Mustapha Ussif, expressed interest in hosting the event following Accra's successful hosting of the 2023 African Games in March 2024.
Scotland bid
On 11 April 2024, it was announced that Glasgow was considered as a "last possibility" to host the 2026 Games in the event that no other host was forthcoming. It was reported that the Games would be on a smaller scale and could reuse venues from the 2014 Commonwealth Games. Accommodation for the athletes would comprise hotels, and possibly the student residences of Glasgow Caledonian University and University of Glasgow. Furthermore, the cost of the Games would be covered fully by the Commonwealth Games Federation and their corporate sponsors. Discussions were ongoing between Commonwealth Games Scotland, the Scottish Government and EventScotland: a confirmed bid was expected by the end of the month, but the bid documents were in fact not submitted at that time. On 25 July 2024, the BBC reported that a decision would be made in August.
On 11 August 2024, it was speculated that an agreement had been reached for Glasgow to take over the hosting rights of the Games. A statement from the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland issued on 30 August 2024, suggested a compact and low scale Games with 10 sports across four venues including the Scotstoun Stadium and the Tollcross International Swimming Centre.
On 17 September 2024, it was announced that the Scottish Government had agreed to host the Games with compensation from Victoria.
+2026 Commonwealth Games bidding results City / regionNationVotesGlasgow ScotlandUnanimous
Venues The following venues were used for the 2026 Commonwealth Games:
VenueEventsCapacityStatusThe HydroCeremonies12,306ExistingNetballSEC Centre3x3 basketballTBDExisting with temporary standsBowlsTBDBoxingTBDJudoTBDSEC ArmadilloWeightlifting3,000ExistingScotstoun StadiumAthletics10,000-11,000Existing, renovatedTollcross International Swimming CentreSwimming2,000ExistingCommonwealth ArenaArtistic gymnastics5,000Sir Chris Hoy VelodromeTrack cycling2,000
Gallery of venues
King's Baton Relay The King's Baton was officially launched on 10 March 2025, to mark the start of the 500-day countdown, with King Charles III, in full military regalia, unveiling the plaque and then handing over the baton to the first runner, Sir Chris Hoy. The baton made from ash wood was designed by Tim Norman. The organisation decided that it would be sent to the Caribbean region to start the global relay with Port of Spain, in Trinidad and Tobago, as the first international stop.
The choice of Trinidad and Tobago was a result of the country successfully hosting the 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games. The Caribbean part of the Baton Relay culminated in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines on Saturday 14 June, before the African leg (15 June to 24 October), then Asia (25 October to 21 December), Oceania (2 January to 26 March 2026), Americas (27 March to 6 May 2026), and Europe (8 May to 23 July 2026).
For the 18th Baton Relay, a new format was introduced where each of the 74 Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) received an individual baton crafted in Glasgow. Rather than passing a single baton between nations, each CGA was permitted to customise its baton to reflect its local culture.
In addition to being the first time of being part of The King's Baton Relay, Commonwealth Sport partnered with the Royal Commonwealth Society (RCS) to integrate the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign into the relay, focusing on ocean conservation and methods for recycling plastic waste.
The King's Baton Relay culminated at the Opening Ceremony of Glasgow 2026 on 23 July 2026, as a traditional and fundamental part of the Commonwealth Games Opening Ceremonies.
Ceremonies As part of the proposed plan put forward by Commonwealth Games Scotland, the opening and closing ceremonies were scaled down compared to previous Games. It was announced on 20 March 2026 that the opening ceremony would take place at the OVO Hydro, the first time in the Games' 96-year history that a ceremony would be held in an indoor venue.
Opening ceremony
The opening ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games took place on 23 July 2026 at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow. It was the first Commonwealth Games opening ceremony to be staged entirely indoors. Scottish singer-songwriter KT Tunstall headlined the ceremony, with performances by Callum Beattie, Nina Nesbitt, Nathan Evans and Saint Phnx, while electronic folk duo Valtos provided the soundtrack to the Parade of Nations. The King and Queen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and First Minister of Scotland were in attendance. The ceremony concluded the King's Baton Relay.
Closing ceremony