Glasgow will host the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games from July 23 to August 2, welcoming 3,000 athletes from 74 nations competing for 215 gold medals across four venues. The opening ceremony at the Hydro will be led by King Charles, with a record 47 para-sports events featured.

Glasgow stepped in after Victoria, Australia withdrew in July 2023 when costs soared from A$2.6bn to over A$6bn. The 2026 edition will cost £150m (versus £543m in 2014), funded by £100m from the Commonwealth Games Federation and commercial revenue. No public money is being spent.

Star athletes include mile world record holder Josh Kerr, five-time Olympic champion Elaine Thompson-Herah, defending 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan, and South Africa's Chad Le Clos chasing a record 19th medal. The mile returns for the first time since 1966, with Kerr facing Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley.

Several sports were cut including hockey, mountain biking, road cycling, rhythmic gymnastics, badminton, squash and diving. The 2014 baton relay visited 70 nations over 248 days covering 190,000km.