The organizing committee of the upcoming 2026 Commonwealth Games has added international healthcare group Bupa to its growing list of commercial partners in a wide-ranging deal.
Under the new agreement, Bupa becomes the official healthcare principal partner of Glasgow 2026 and an official partner of Team Scotland, as well as a partner of Commonwealth Sport’s GAPS initiative.
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The GAPS program, developed by governing body Commonwealth Sport and Griffith University, supports the development of emerging para-athletes and coaches from the Commonwealth through training camps and partnerships, with a camp to take place in Ayr ahead of the 2026 edition.
Commonwealth Sport chief executive Katie Saleir said: “We are delighted to have Bupa's support for our pre-Games GAPS camp.
“Bringing Para athletes and their coaches together from across the Commonwealth in the final days before Glasgow 2026, the camp is an important part of helping athletes arrive ready to perform at their best.”
The games will run from July 22 to August 2 in Glasgow and feature 10 different sports, as well as para-iterations of six of the sports, staged across four venues – the Scottish Event Campus, Tollcross Swimming Centre, Scotstoun Stadium, and The Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Iñaki Ereño, group chief executive of Bupa, added: “Sport has a unique ability to bring people together and play a powerful role in supporting both physical and mental health.
“This partnership reflects our ambition to help more people experience the positive impact of movement on our health. Glasgow 2026’s vision for a more inclusive and sustainable Games strongly aligns with our own, and we’re excited to play a part in helping bring that to life.”
The partnership adds to Glasgow 2026’s commercial slate, having most recently announced UK-based software company Ideagen as the event’s official AI technology principal partner and craft beer brand Jubel as the event’s official beer partner.
Other recent agreements secured for the event include Coca-Cola as the official soft drinks partner and the official partner of Team Scotland, Corporate and Sporting Events, the UK-based logistics solutions provider, and Chinese electric vehicle company BYD, which signed on as its official car partner.
Glasgow is due to host the event for the second time, having previously done so in 2014.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games was originally set to be hosted by the Australian state of Victoria, but the region's government withdrew in July 2023 owing to a huge increase in the projected cost of staging the games – originally projected to hit A$2.6 billion ($1.7 billion), the cost then rose to an untenable A$6 billion.
Malaysia was briefly considered as a replacement before Glasgow stepped in.
In its withdrawal, Victoria had to pay A$380 million to the CGF as compensation, £100 million ($129 million) of which CGS has budgeted to use for the financing of its Commonwealth Games proposal, with the remaining £30-£50 million to be drawn from ticketing, sponsorship, and broadcast revenue.
Last October, the Indian city of Ahmedabad was announced as the replacement host for the 2030 Commonwealth Games after Alberta, Canada, also pulled out in mid-2023.
While Glasgow will host a scaled-down version of the games, with only a 10-sport program, Indian officials have already stated they will organize a full slate of events and use the games as a stepping stone to bid for the 2036 Olympic Games.
