Glasgow to host scaled-back Commonwealth Games 2026 after Victoria withdrawal

When the fastest man on the planet won Commonwealth relay gold for Jamaica in 2014, more than 50,000 fans cheered him home at Hampden.

But the athletes seeking to emulate Usain Bolt when the Games return to Glasgow - including mile world record holder Josh Kerr - will be competing at Scotstoun Stadium in front of 11,000 spectators.

This time round almost everything is on a smaller scale but organisers are confident fans will create a Tartan Army-style atmosphere for the 3,000 competitors who will be chasing glory.

From Friday until 2 August, 215 gold medals will be up for grabs - compared to 261 when Scotland last staged the Games - but Glasgow 2026 will see a record 47 para-sports events.

The action gets under way with bowls and para-bowls heats at 09:30, but the Games will be officially opened by King Charles during a ceremony at the Hydro later.

It will be attended by athletes from 74 nations and territories as well as dignitaries including Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Scotland's First Minister John Swinney and the First Minister of Wales Rhun ap Iorwerth.

Some of the 4,000 Games volunteers, aged 16 to 96, will also take part in the celebration.

Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria pulled out of hosting the Games in July 2023.

It had only agreed to stage the event in April 2022 after the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) struggled to find a host.

Organisers had originally estimated the event would cost A$2.6bn (£1.35bn) and the state government had billed it as a boost for the regions.

But the projected bill soared to more than A$6 billion (£3.11bn).

Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews said the new figure was "more than twice the estimated economic benefit" it would bring to the state.

The decision not only plunged the future of the 2026 edition into doubt but the Games as whole.

But in September 2024 a deal, backed by the Scottish government, was agreed for Glasgow to host "a scaled back, but high-quality" event.

It will be staged across four venues along an eight-mile stretch - Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Glasgow International Arena and the Scottish Event Campus (SEC).

In 2014 the budget for the Games was £543m but no public money has been spent on the 23rd edition, which will cost £150m in total.

The CGF is investing £100m of this, with the remainder coming from commercial revenue streams such as ticketing, sponsorship, broadcast rights and merchandise.

Athletics, cycling and swimming have proved the most popular but tickets are still available for many events.

The triumphant 2012 London Olympics were still fresh in the mind when Glasgow last staged the Commonwealth Games.

Usain Bolt topped an athletics cast list which also included Olympic champions David Rudisha of Kenya (800m), Australia's Sally Pearson (100m hurdles) and Valerie Adams of New Zealand (shot put).

This year the most decorated track star is also a Jamaican sprinter.

Elaine Thompson-Herah made her Commonwealth debut in 2014 and went on to become the first woman in history to win back-to-back Olympic 100m and 200m titles in Rio and Tokyo.

She is aiming to defend the titles she won at Birmingham 2022.

Other big names include Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse, who is a double Olympic champion, and two-time world 200m champion Shericka Jackson of Jamaica.

Meanwhile, Scotland's Eilish McColgan will be hoping to retain her Commonwealth title in the 10,000m.

Her triumph four years ago followed her mother Liz's victory in the same event at the 1986 Games in Edinburgh.

McColgan will line-up alongside compatriot Megan Keith, who broke the European 10k road record in Spain earlier this year.

Meanwhile, reigning 1500m Commonwealth champion Laura Muir will run the 5,000m.

In the pool, South Africa's Chad Le Clos was one of the biggest draws in 2014 after he defeated his hero, American legend Michael Phelps, in the 200m butterfly at the London Olympics.

Le Clos will return to Glasgow, where he won two golds in 2014, with the aim of becoming the most decorated male in the history of the Games by adding to his current haul of 18 medals.

Fellow Olympic champions competing at Tollcross include Mollie O'Callaghan of Australia, England's Adam Ramsay-Peaty and Daniel Wiffen of Northern Ireland.

Duncan Scott, Scotland's most successful Olympian, will hope to add to his collection of 13 Commonwealth medals.

But Archie Goodburn, who has terminal brain cancer, could provide one of the moments of the Games if he lands a podium finish in the 50m breaststroke.

Last month he told BBC Scotland: "I get goosebumps thinking about it."

Elsewhere, two five-time Commonwealth champions will be hoping to delight the home crowd.

Bowls great Alex "Tattie" Marshall will be making his eighth Games appearance and para-cycling star Neil Fachie will retire after riding both men's tandem events.

The mile returns to the Games for the first time since the 1966 edition in Kingston, Jamaica.

The race on 1 August - which will replace the 1500m - will see a stellar line-up go head-to-head over the distance made famous by Sir Roger Bannister.

In May 1954 he became the first person to run a mile in under four minutes and later that summer won gold over the same distance at the 1954 Games.

Fast forward 72 years and the line-up will include three Scots with high hopes of a medal.

Josh Kerr, fresh from breaking the 27-year-old mile world record in London, will be a favourite to top the podium.

But the former 1500m world champion will face competition from 2022 world champion Jake Wightman and Neil Gourley, who has world and European indoor 1500m medals to his name.

Australian track sensation Cameron Myers - who ran the fastest 1500m by an under-21, external in July - will also compete in the event.

In the women's mile race Scotland will be represented by Jemma Reekie.

The decision to scale back the Games meant there was some disappointment when the final schedule was announced.

Hockey was dropped despite a £5m national hockey centre being built for Glasgow 2014.

The cycling programme, which previously included mountain biking and road races, will be confined to the track.

In gymnastics, there is no room for any rhythmic events, with only artistic gymnastics being included.

Bowls, which were last time held at Kelvingrove, will be staged indoors at the SEC.

Badminton and squash were also scrapped and there will be no diving competitions.

Kylie Minogue, Lulu and Deacon Blue topped the bill for the last closing ceremony, which was staged at Hampden.

The curtain will come down on Glasgow 2026 at the Hydro after a ceremony featuring Delta Goodrem and rock legends Simple Minds.

Shankar Mahadevan, one of Bollywood's most renowned vocalists, and film star Rashmika Mandanna will also take to the stage to refelect the fact that the Indian city of Ahmedabad will host the centenary Games in October 2030.

Judo champion Sarah Adlington and Alex Marshall, who has won five Commonwealth gold medals in bowls, will lead out Team Scotland at the opening ceremony.

Adlington, one of Britain's most successful heavyweight judoka athletes, will bear the Scottish baton while Marshall will carry the Saltire flag.

Marshall said: "It will be an absolute privilege to lead this team out with Sarah, and I know every single one of us will give everything to bring success home for Team Scotland."

Adlington said: "Representing Scotland has always meant so much to me, so to have the opportunity to lead this team into a home Commonwealth Games is a real privilege that I'll cherish for the rest of my life."

The BBC was replaced by TNT Sports as live UK broadcast partner for the Games.

The subscription channel outbid the corporation, which had been the main partner and provided free-to-air coverage since 1954 for 18 games in-a-row.

Earlier this month it was confirmed BBC Alba is to screen nightly live coverage and highlights throughout the Games.

The Gaelic broadcaster will be the only place on the BBC where viewers can watch the action.

A similar deal was struck with S4C to provide live Welsh-language coverage.

Meanwhile, Channel 5 will screen the opening ceremony live and also run a nightly highlights show.

BBC Radio 5 Live is also providing extensive coverage of the Games featuring live event updates and daily evening broadcasts.

A cartoon thistle mascot was one of the stars of Glasgow 2014.

Fibreglass statues of Clyde - who was designed by 12-year-old Beth Gilmour - were dotted around the city and his beaming smile was all over social media.

Last July a unicorn called Finnie was unveiled as the official mascot for the 2026 Games.

But, earlier this month, Clyde staged a unlikely comeback as he joined Team Scotland.

Elinor Middlemiss, the team's chef de mission, said: "Clyde isn't just a mascot, he's part of Scotland's sporting story."