Government support for the Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026

The award of the 2026 Commonwealth Games to Glasgow followed the collapse of the original host plans in Victoria, Australia, which withdrew in 2023 due to rising costs. The Victorian government had “decided that the Games no longer represented value for money” after the cost of hosting increased from an estimated $2.6 billion to more than $6 billion.

In response, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) worked with Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) and other stakeholders to develop a revised, lower‑cost hosting model capable of being delivered within a much shorter timeframe. In September 2024, it was announced that Glasgow would host a scaled-down version of the Games featuring fewer sports and athletes.

Glasgow 2026 Limited, the organising company established to deliver the Games, has said that is “pioneering a significantly more sustainable and innovative model for major event delivery” (PDF). The model does not involve direct public funding and includes a “streamlined budget of £150 million” (compared to £778 million allocated to the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham). The budget consists of investment by Commonwealth Sport alongside commercial revenue sources.

On 11 September 2024, the BBC reported that the UK government had rejected a request from the Scottish government to underwrite the entire cost of Scotland 2026. In a letter which the BBC claimed to have seen, the sports minister, Stephanie Peacock, stated that the UK government "cannot commit to fully underwriting the risk for an event the Scottish government has committed to host". The letter reportedly said that “around £27m” had been earmarked as a contingency fund and that "an additional contribution of up to £2.3m" would be provided for the event. It further stated the minister’s “strong preference” for the Scottish government to match that figure to “help cover any increase in safety and security costs if terror threat levels rise before the games.”

The report quoted the Scottish health secretary Neil Gray as saying:

We've set out very clearly that there cannot be a financial risk - we do not have that cover, particularly in an in-year position when the Games are being held, because we do not have the same opportunity, as the UK government does, to vary our budget in-year. We would have to find savings elsewhere.

On 17 September 2024, CGS announced that it had secured support from the Scottish and UK governments for its proposed plan for hosting the Games. CGS welcomed this as a "significant step forward”. The organisers stated that the delivery of the Games did not require “public funding or a public underwrite from Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government or the UK Government.” They also stated that the UK government had made “an additional £2.3 million available as contingency towards security costs if required.”

The organisers of the Games have said there are “several controls in place” to ensure that Glasgow 2026 is delivered on budget. These include a “contingency in the Games budget” and “scope to adjust service levels to reduce costs where required”. The BBC quoted Neil Gray as saying:

If there is a situation where we go beyond a very substantial contingency, CGS will need to look at the way the Games are being delivered rather than calling on either the UK or Scottish government for resource.

In December 2025, it was reported that the Scottish government would provide £150,000 for Scotland House at the Corinthian in Glasgow which would operate, in partnership with CGS and Sportscotland, as a central hub for business engagement, a private space for Team Scotland athletes and families, and a media centre.

Parliamentary questions and debates on the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games

Scottish Affairs Committee, Glasgow Commonwealth Games 2026, oral evidence and correspondence.