After a dramatic fire brought a sizeable chunk of the busiest part of Glasgow<\/a> \u2013 including Glasgow Central station \u2013 to a standstill, the city has worked hard to reopen and lay on a version of the games that will be a success.<\/p>\nIt is by design a stripped-back affair. There are fewer events and fewer tickets available. Only 10 of the 17 sports from 2014 are being staged in this competition, and half a million tickets being sold, compared with 1.5m when Glasgow last held the event.<\/p>\n
The budget is less than a third of previous games, at \u00a3150m, compared with \u00a3550m in 2014, funded through the Commonwealth Games Federation and relationships with commercial partners.<\/p>\n
Some of the funding has also come from compensation paid by Victoria after it pulled out, having already spent A$589m (\u00a3300m), according to an official report in 2024.<\/p>\n
Glasgow\u2019s rescue of the 2026 games, which came after Birmingham stepped in four years ago when the South African city of Durban pulled out, puts into focus the challenge many cities have in finding money to cover the costs, which usually involve new venues and transport infrastructure.<\/p>\nTraditional Scottish musicians were on hand to welcome international athletes to the city.<\/span> Photograph: Dean Lewins\/AAP<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\u201cIt\u2019s good for the economy,\u201d says Callan Cuddihy, a scaffolder who wants to watch the boxing. \u201cI know it\u2019s happening but just not exactly when.\u201d<\/p>\n
His friend, Bobby Monteith, agreed. \u201cThere\u2019s not much advertising compared to last time.\u201d<\/p>\n
They are disappointed to hear they will have to pay to watch it on TV if they do not get tickets. While the opening ceremony on Thursday evening and some of the highlights will be shown on Channel 5, for the first time since 1954 the BBC will not be showing any of the events, with the rights instead going to Warner Bros Discovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt shouldn\u2019t be a subscription,\u201d says Monteith. \u201cIf it\u2019s for the people they should put it on TV.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite that, a day before the official start of the games, the majority of the events are not sold out.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we hadn\u2019t come here, we wouldn\u2019t have known it was on,\u201d says Elisha Massiah, on a trip from Streatham in south London for a wedding, with her partner Nathan and daughters Iman, 9, and Nailah-Rose, 6.<\/p>\nThe Commonwealth Games mascot, Finnie, met delegates.<\/span> Photograph: Peter Summers\/Getty Images for King\u2019s Baton Relay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nThough Iman is good at athletics and Nailah-Rose is \u201cthe fastest girl two years in a row\u201d at school, it was not on their radar until they arrived and saw a bagpiper and highland dancers welcoming the teams from across the world to the city.<\/p>\n
For Carolanne Connal, a theatre nurse in north Lanarkshire who is on her way to a Palestine demo, it is the colonial origins of the games holding her back.<\/p>\n
Though there are 74 member nations competing, many of them are unable to invest much in their athletes. She says: \u201cDo they get a fair shot?\u201d<\/p>\n
Criticisms are often made of the value of the Commonwealth Games, historically known as the British Empire Games, which has been racing to modernise and shed the colonial connotations to attract younger audiences.<\/p>\n
In Candleriggs, in central Glasgow, national flags are flying alongside black mourning ribbons of the 28 Commonwealth countries where same-sex relationships are still criminalised.<\/p>\n
The exhibition, laid on by Glasgow 2026, is part of a number of initiatives which the chief executive, Phil Batty, said \u201cremind us that while we celebrate our differences, we should never accept inequality or injustice\u201d.<\/p>\nThe games will begin on Thursday.<\/span> Photograph: Mattia Ozbot\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nHe added: \u201cGlasgow is a city that has never been afraid to stand up and speak out. It is a city that campaigns for equality and believes everyone deserves to live openly, safely and with dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n
But despite criticisms, athletes continue to speak of the importance of the games.<\/p>\n
Two England swimmers, Gabrielle Idle-Beavers and Evie Lambert, think that among athletes, the Commonwealth Games still carries a lot of significance in the calendar. Both 18-year-olds are making their debuts in major adult competitions.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo many people do want to take part,\u201d says Lambert, a para-athlete. Her teammate adds: \u201cObviously the Olympics are the goal, but it\u2019s personal preference too, the dynamics are different.\u201d<\/p>\n
The overwhelming feeling in Glasgow is of optimism and positivity about the games. Even those who try to be grumpy about it do not quite seem to manage it.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell I know which places to avoid,\u201d says one older woman, about the crowds coming to the city. Then a grin spreads across her face. \u201cThat\u2019s a lie, because the last time I thoroughly enjoyed it.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cA lot of people aren\u2019t fully aware it\u2019s happening,\u201d says one man working on a stall selling Commonwealth Games merchandise in Glasgow city centre on Wednesday, a day before the competition begins. \u201cIt\u2019s been slow \u2013 the first two days we didn\u2019t really sell anything but it\u2019s picking up now.\u201d The lacklustre sales of T-shirts, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":254265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6802],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-254264","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-athetics"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=254264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/254264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/254265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=254264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=254264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sports.runfyers.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=254264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}