The Commonwealth Games 2026 — officially the XXIII Commonwealth Games, and known globally as Glasgow 2026 — were held in Glasgow, Scotland, from 23 July to 2 August 2026. Deliberately compact and reused-venue in design, they became one of the most unusual editions in the event’s history: the smallest sports programme in over three decades, yet the largest Para programme the Games had ever staged.
This was the fourth time Scotland hosted the event, following Edinburgh in 1970 and 1986 and Glasgow in 2014. It was also the first Commonwealth Games held since the death of Queen Elizabeth II and the accession of King Charles III as Head of the Commonwealth.
Glasgow 2026 at a glance:
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Official name | XXIII Commonwealth Games |
| Host city | Glasgow, Scotland |
| Dates | 23 July – 2 August 2026 (11 days) |
| Opening ceremony | 23 July 2026, OVO Hydro |
| Closing ceremony | 2 August 2026 |
| Nations/territories | 74 Commonwealth Games Associations |
| Athletes | Approximately 3,000 |
| Sports | 10 (including 6 integrated Para sports) |
| Medal events | 215 gold medals |
| Top nation | Australia (70 gold, 171 total) |
| Mascot | Finnie, a Glaswegian unicorn |
| Next host | Ahmedabad, India — 2030 Centenary Games |
Why Glasgow Hosted the 2026 Commonwealth Games
The road to Glasgow was anything but ordinary. The Australian state of Victoria was originally awarded the 2026 Games in April 2022, with events planned across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo and Gippsland. On 18 July 2023, the Victorian government cancelled those plans after cost projections ballooned to an estimated A$6–7 billion — roughly double the expected economic benefit.
For a period, the 2026 Games looked likely to be postponed or scrapped entirely. Gold Coast floated a co-hosting offer and withdrew, Malaysia was offered around £100 million to step in and declined, and Singapore explored a bid before passing.
Glasgow rescued the Games. On 17 September 2024, the Scottish Government agreed to host a deliberately compact, low-cost edition, funded largely by roughly A$200 million in compensation from Victoria plus Commonwealth Games Federation and commercial money — meaning no significant new public funds and no new stadium construction.
The trade-off was a stripped-back event: the smallest sports programme since 1994, no athletes’ village, and every venue reused from Glasgow’s existing infrastructure within a corridor of roughly eight miles.
Commonwealth Games 2026 Sports List — All 10 Sports
Glasgow 2026 featured 10 sports across 215 medal events. Six of them included a fully integrated Para sport programme, delivering 47 Para finals — the largest Para programme in Commonwealth Games history.
| # | Sport | Gold Medals | Para Events Included |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Athletics | 43 | Yes — Para Athletics (16) |
| 2 | Swimming | 42 | Yes — Para Swimming (14) |
| 3 | Track Cycling | 18 | Yes — Para Track Cycling (8) |
| 4 | Weightlifting | 16 | Yes — Para Powerlifting (4) |
| 5 | Boxing | 14 | No |
| 6 | Judo | 14 | No |
| 7 | Artistic Gymnastics | 14 | No |
| 8 | Bowls | 4 | Yes — Para Bowls (3) |
| 9 | 3×3 Basketball | 2 | Yes — 3×3 Wheelchair Basketball |
| 10 | Netball | 1 | No |
From this edition onward, only athletics and swimming are compulsory sports — a rule change designed to make future Games cheaper and easier to host.
Sports Dropped from Birmingham 2022
Eleven sports from the previous edition did not make the cut in Glasgow: cricket T20, field hockey, badminton, rugby sevens, squash, table tennis, triathlon, beach volleyball, diving, rhythmic gymnastics and wrestling. Several outdoor events within retained sports — the marathon, race walking, road cycling and mountain biking — were also cut for cost reasons.
Format Changes That Defined Glasgow 2026
- The Mile returned to athletics for the first time since 1966, replacing the 1,500m — a tribute to the “Miracle Mile” between Roger Bannister and John Landy at Vancouver 1954. For the first time ever, women contested a Commonwealth Mile.
- A mixed 4x400m relay was added.
- Bowls moved indoors for the first time, dropping the traditional lawn format, with events cut from 11 to 7.
- 3×3 basketball expanded to 12 teams per gender in the standing tournament.
- Swimming grew from 52 to 54 events, adding the men’s 800m freestyle and women’s 1500m freestyle.
Commonwealth Games 2026 Venues
Every venue sat within a compact eight-mile corridor across Glasgow — one of the shortest venue footprints in Games history, with all facilities reused from the city’s existing infrastructure.
| Venue | Sports Hosted | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| OVO Hydro | Opening ceremony, Netball | 12,306 |
| SEC Centre | 3×3 Basketball, Bowls, Boxing, Judo | Temporary stands |
| SEC Armadillo | Weightlifting, Para Powerlifting | 3,000 |
| Scotstoun Stadium | Athletics, Para Athletics | 10,000–11,000 |
| Tollcross International Swimming Centre | Swimming, Para Swimming | 2,000 |
| Commonwealth Arena | Artistic Gymnastics | 5,000 |
| Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome | Track Cycling, Para Track Cycling | 2,000 |
The opening ceremony at the OVO Hydro was a first in Commonwealth Games history — the first ceremony ever held indoors.
Commonwealth Games 2026 Final Medal Table
Australia dominated from start to finish, topping the medal table for the eighth consecutive Games. In all, 45 nations and territories won at least one medal out of the 74 that competed. The full final standings — ordered by gold, then silver, then bronze, in line with Commonwealth Sport convention — are below.
| Rank | Nation | 🥇 Gold | 🥈 Silver | 🥉 Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Australia | 70 | 45 | 56 | 171 |
| 2 | England | 29 | 45 | 36 | 110 |
| 3 | Canada | 19 | 20 | 23 | 62 |
| 4 | India | 13 | 17 | 9 | 39 |
| 5 | Scotland (host) | 13 | 9 | 17 | 39 |
| 6 | New Zealand | 10 | 14 | 12 | 36 |
| 7 | Nigeria | 10 | 7 | 7 | 24 |
| 8 | Jamaica | 10 | 4 | 5 | 19 |
| 9 | Wales | 9 | 10 | 12 | 31 |
| 10 | Malaysia | 8 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| 11 | South Africa | 7 | 11 | 10 | 28 |
| 12 | Northern Ireland | 3 | 4 | 9 | 16 |
| 13 | Kenya | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| 14 | Cyprus | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 15 | Mauritius | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 16 | Cameroon | 1 | 1 | 3 | 5 |
| 17 | Jersey | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Samoa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 17 | Sri Lanka | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| 20 | Bahamas | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Fiji | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 20 | Isle of Man | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 |
| 23 | British Virgin Islands | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Dominica | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 23 | Grenada | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| 26 | Trinidad and Tobago | 0 | 3 | 4 | 7 |
| 27 | Uganda | 0 | 2 | 1 | 3 |
| 28 | Singapore | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| 29 | Namibia | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 |
| 30 | Ghana | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 31 | Barbados | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 31 | Guernsey | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| 33 | Lesotho | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 33 | Nauru | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 33 | Zambia | 0 | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| 36 | Bermuda | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Gabon | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Malta | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Norfolk Island | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Pakistan | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Papua New Guinea | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Rwanda | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | The Gambia | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Tonga | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| 36 | Tuvalu | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Total (45 CGAs) | 216 | 215 | 243 | 674 |
Australia won a staggering 37 golds and 76 medals in the swimming pool alone, and also topped the athletics, track cycling and 3×3 basketball medal tables. Four nations celebrated historic firsts in Glasgow: Dominica won its first-ever Commonwealth gold (Thea LaFond, women’s triple jump), while Rwanda, Tuvalu and Games debutant Gabon each won their first-ever Commonwealth medal.
Records and Standout Moments of Glasgow 2026
Even as a scaled-down edition, Glasgow produced a string of history-making performances:
- Chad le Clos (South Africa) became the most decorated athlete in Commonwealth Games history, winning his 21st career medal — a bronze in the men’s 4x100m medley relay — to move one clear of Australia’s Emma McKeon.
- Emma Finucane (Wales) became the first cyclist ever to win all four sprint events at a single Commonwealth Games, taking the team sprint, individual sprint, 1000m time trial and keirin, and setting a Games record along the way.
- New Zealand ended Australia’s long grip on netball gold, winning the final 56–48 in one of the biggest upsets of the Games.
- Louise Hoskins (England) became the oldest Commonwealth Games gold medallist at 76 years and 173 days, winning the Para-bowls women’s pairs title.
- Team England won the very first gold of the Games through Mark Swan in men’s Para powerlifting — before Australia surged clear of the field.
India at Commonwealth Games 2026
India sent a 122-athlete contingent to Glasgow across ten sports — its 19th appearance at the Games since debuting in 1934. Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu was the flag-bearer and boxer Lovlina Borgohain the baton-bearer at the opening ceremony, while boxer Jaismine Lamboria carried the flag at the closing ceremony.
India finished fourth with 39 medals — 13 gold, 17 silver and 9 bronze — a smaller haul than Birmingham’s 61, but a strong return given that five of India’s most reliable medal sources (badminton, wrestling, hockey, squash and table tennis) were absent from the programme entirely.
How India Won Its Medals
- Boxing led the charge with a record 10 medals, including an unprecedented seven golds — the most won by any nation in the sport at a single Commonwealth Games. Standouts included Sakshi Chaudhary, Preeti and Jaismine Lamboria, who added a Commonwealth title to her world championship.
- Neeraj Chopra marked his return to the Games — after missing Birmingham 2022 through injury — with silver in the men’s javelin throw.
- Gulveer Singh became the first Indian track-and-field athlete to win two individual medals at a single Commonwealth Games, taking silver in the 10,000m and bronze in the 5,000m.
- Tejaswin Shankar made history as India’s first-ever Commonwealth Games decathlon medallist, claiming bronze.
- Glasgow was also India’s most successful Para campaign yet, with seven medals (three gold, two silver, two bronze) — matching the country’s combined Para total from all previous editions and ending a 20-year wait for an Indian Para athletics podium.
India’s Commonwealth Games Medal Count in Context
| Games | Gold | Total | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|
| Delhi 2010 | 38 | 101 | 2nd |
| Glasgow 2014 | 15 | 64 | 5th |
| Gold Coast 2018 | 26 | 66 | 3rd |
| Birmingham 2022 | 22 | 61 | 4th |
| Glasgow 2026 | 13 | 39 | 4th |
Mascot, Baton and Identity
Finnie, the official mascot, was a Glaswegian unicorn — Scotland’s national animal — named after the city’s Finnieston Crane, with a traffic cone for a horn in a nod to Glasgow’s beloved habit of capping the Duke of Wellington statue. She was designed by schoolchildren across Scotland.
The King’s Baton Relay was launched by King Charles III on 10 March 2025, with Sir Chris Hoy as the first runner. For the first time, all 74 Commonwealth Games Associations received their own individual baton, crafted in Glasgow and free to be customised — making it the longest and most inclusive baton relay in Games history. The official Glasgow 2026 tartan carried 74 grey threads for the participating nations and 26 blue threads for the year.
How the Games Were Broadcast
| Region | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| India | Sony Pictures Networks |
| United Kingdom & Ireland | TNT Sports (live), Channel 5 (highlights) |
| Australia | Seven Network |
| New Zealand | Sky |
Channel 5’s highlights deal notably ended the BBC’s 72-year run as a Commonwealth Games broadcaster.
What Comes After Glasgow 2026?
The closing ceremony on 2 August 2026 included the formal handover to Ahmedabad, India, host of the 2030 Centenary Games — marking 100 years since the first British Empire Games in 1930. It will be only the second time India hosts the Commonwealth Games, after Delhi 2010, and expectations are high that a fuller sports programme on home soil could see India return to the top of its medal-tally range.
