The uncertain long-term future of the Commonwealth Games has been a continued question since the original 2026 hosts, Victoria, Australia, withdrew from its position in July 2023. Glasgow, Scotland, has stepped up to host the event in 2026, in a more stripped-back competition, as the number of sports scheduled falls from 19 in 2022 to 10 in 2026. The 2026 competition will run for 11 days between 23 July and 2 August.
The 2026 event will be the fourth time Scotland has hosted the Commonwealth Games and represents the eighth time the event has taken place in the United Kingdom.
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The UK is one of only seven nations to have historically hosted the Commonwealth Games. The costs of hosting such a big, global event mean the catalogue of potential host destinations is much smaller than the summer Olympic Games, because of limited Commonwealth nations competing (74 in 2026).
Only a few Commonwealth countries have the resources and funds to realistically host a major event on the scale of the Commonwealth Games. Australia has hosted on a record five occasions, so its hosting withdrawal has critics questioning the long-term viability of the event.
The games are set for Ahmedabad, India, in 2030, but the 2034 event and beyond have yet to be announced. Despite the potential alarms, the planned reduced games in 2026 could offer a blueprint for a smaller and more affordable multi-sport event, which could open the opportunity for more Commonwealth nations to get involved with the rights moving forward, with New Zealand already showing interest in the 2034 event.
The withdrawal of Victoria as hosts also raises a wider question around the appetite for the Commonwealth Games. Despite strong previous ticket sales, a reduced event in Glasgow highlights a form of regression for the event.
The media rights sales also highlight potential concerns about the reach of the games in 2026. It will be the first event since 1954 that the BBC will not hold TV rights, having been outbid by TNT Sports for the live rights and the highlights rights agreed with Channel 5 in the UK market.
It coincides with major budgetary shifts at the BBC in recent years, with the public broadcaster having also ended its TV viewership for the Boat Race for the first time in its history. Its financial priorities lie elsewhere in 2026, a year where it is spending big on shared rights with ITV for the FIFA World Cup (worth $150 million).
The move to TNT Sports means the 2026 Commonwealth Games will be behind a paywall for the first time in the UK market, meaning restricted accessibility for fans and potentially lower overall viewership numbers.
The 2026 games are a scaled-back version of the event. The approximate cost of hosting the games in Scotland this year is £114 million ($150.8m). This is significantly below the sums spent at the two most recent Commonwealth Games, where the 2018 Gold Coast event cost $1.28 billion, and the 2022 Birmingham event cost £778 million ($1.03bn).
The reduced number of sports and timetabling for the event has helped keep costs down. Other areas helping keep costs down include the lack of an ‘athletes village’ and use of fewer venues, and exploitation of existing infrastructure, such as the Hydro, Scotstoun Stadium, and the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, with limited investment needed in these locations to be able to host games events.
Part of the reduced financial commitment from the Glaswegian budget has been supported by funds offered by the original hosts – the Victorian government which offered in excess of £100 million ($132.3m). Further appeal for Glasgow in stepping in as the event hosts stems around a projected $£150 million ($198.5m) economic benefit.
Whilst not on the size and scale of the Olympic Games, the Commonwealth Games is a major event, which enables Glasgow the opportunity to showcase its city to a sizeable global audience.
The Birmingham event in 2022 sold over 1.51 million tickets and generated a global TV viewership of 834.9 million. The event is also linked to at least £214.6 million ($284m) in GVA (Gross Value Added) to the city of Birmingham and a wider £870.7 million ($1.15bn) GVA across the wider UK economy.
Part of the drawback of this fan appeal, however, is the more limited travel of fans. Only 2% of the ticket sales at the 2022 Commonwealth Games were sold to fans from overseas. Although much bigger, by comparison, the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris saw 36.5% of its ticket sales sold to overseas fans.
Its leaner format and reduced financial commitment of the 2026 event represent a potential future for the Commonwealth Games beyond the already announced hosts of India in 2030.
The event must show that the demand and appetite for the Commonwealth Games remain strong and that fans are still willing to engage with it on its reduced format. Failure to generate interest could be devastating for the long-term future of an event that has been active since 1930.
Success in 2026, however, could offer the blueprint for success moving forward, drive wider interest across competing nations, and allow for a wider pool of prospective future host countries.
