Badminton and hockey are among the sports that have missed out on the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (Scotland, UK).
‘BBC’ stated that a stripped-back program of 10 sports, announced on October 22nd, includes athletics and swimming as mandatory as well as the likes of track cycling, boxing and gymnastics.
The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multisport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games, officially known as the XXIII Commonwealth Games and Glasgow 2026, is a planned multisport event scheduled to be hosted in Glasgow, Scotland (UK) for members of the Commonwealth of Nations. It is scheduled to be held from July 23rd-August 2nd, 2026.
‘BBC’ further stated that the Games, last held in Glasgow in 2014 at a cost of over £540m, will take place across four venues between July 23rd and August 2nd, 2026.
Glasgow stepped in to host after the Australian State of Victoria pulled out because of rising costs.
A total of 3,000 athletes from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories are expected to compete at the 2026 Games.
The event will also feature “fully integrated para-competitions” across six of the selected sports.
However, there was disappointment for the athletes who discovered their sports hadn’t made the cut.
Kirsty Gilmour (Scottish badminton player), who has won silver and bronze at the previous Games, said it was “painful” to hear the decision after it was confirmed that no racquet sports would feature at all.
She lamented, “It’s a fairly significant blow. I’m disappointed for myself as it’s a medal chance and a home game but I’m more disappointed for the younger players. I’ve had four Commonwealth Games, I’ll be fine, but for your younger players, your 18/19/20 year-olds, this would have been a major milestone.”
The organizers said they understood that the fans and the athletes of sports not included were “incredibly disappointed” but that the 2026 competition would not influence inclusion in the future Games.
Sports Included
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) said a number of factors, including “universality of participation and quality of competition” as well as local appeal were considered when deciding what sports to include.
The last time the Games were in Glasgow, 17 sports were contested – this time they will feature 10 sports:
- Athletics and para-athletics (track and field only);
- Swimming and para-swimming;
- Artistic gymnastics;
- Track cycling and para-track cycling;
- Netball;
- Weightlifting and para-powerlifting;
- Boxing;
- Judo;
- Bowls and para-bowls; and
- 3×3 basketball and 3×3 wheelchair basketball.
The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), currently known as the Commonwealth Sport, is the international organization responsible for the direction and control of the Commonwealth Games and the Commonwealth Youth Games and is the governing body of the Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs). The headquarters of CGF are located in London, England (UK).
Hockey has been dropped from the program despite a national hockey center being built for the last Glasgow Games at a cost of £5m.
The Scottish Hockey (the national governing body for field hockey in Scotland) head honcho Derek Keir said the organization was “deeply disappointed” by the decision with the sport having been ever-present at the Games since 1988.
Ian Reid, the Chairman of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said hockey missed out for a “number of factors”.
He explained, “You can imagine the balance we’re trying to weigh up, between trying to use the minimum number of venues to keep costs down, looking at the home nations’ success, the number of athletes – hockey would be an additional venue [and a] huge number of athletes that we would have to accommodate.”
However, the organizers remained upbeat with Katie Sadleir, Chief Executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), saying it would be a “truly immersive festival of sport and celebration of culture and diversity”.
The First Minister of Scotland John Swinney said the event would be an exciting opportunity for the people of Scotland and would help secure “a strong and sustainable future for the Games”.
The Secretary of State for Scotland of the United Kingdom Ian Murray called the confirmation “a great example of the UK and the Scottish Governments working together to deliver for Scotland” citing the £2.3m put forward by the UK Government for security costs.
Some sports such as cycling and gymnastics have had their disciplines slimmed down.
The cycling program for Glasgow 2014 included mountain biking and road races but this time athletes will only compete on the track.
In gymnastics, there is no room for any rhythmic events with only artistic gymnastics being included.
There will also be no diving competitions.
The organizers informed that the bowls competition – held outdoors at Kelvingrove in 2014 – would be held indoors at the 14,300-capacity Scottish Event Campus in Glasgow in 2026.
There will be no road-based events such as the triathlon or marathon on the program – these were previously free for the spectators to attend in 2014.
Rugby Sevens (a fast-paced, seven-a-side version of rugby union), which was previously hosted at the 50,817-capacity Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow, is also out.
Reid said playing other sports at the 4,765-capacity Scotstoun Stadium in Scotstoun, Glasgow – home of the Glasgow Warriors rugby team – were looked at but would not be possible for “technical reasons”.
He added that 3×3 basketball had been selected due to it being an easy sport to integrate with parasport and that it would help bring a younger audience to the Games.
Basketball Scotland’s Colin Gregor, who competed at the 2014 Games in rugby union, said that being selected for the Games was “a great opportunity for a sport that’s really growing to get in the public eye”.
The event will feature an Opening and Closing Ceremony and there will be some form of King’s baton relay before the Games.
An estimated 500,000 tickets will go on sale for the various events with the Games expected to be worth £150m to Glasgow.
Reid said he expected the audiences for the Games to be around half the size as 2014.
The CGF confirmed putting on the Games is expected to cost approximately £114m.
It will pay £100m towards the bill with £2.3m coming from Commonwealth Games Australia – who pulled out of hosting the event – as well as £2.3m from the UK Government.
The balance will come from commercial revenue such as ticket sales, broadcast rights, commercial sponsorship, and merchandise.
The four venues which will be used during the event will be the Emirates Arena, the Tollcross International Swimming Centre, the Scottish Event Campus (SEC), and the Scotstoun Stadium.
The organizers said these venues were “operationally viable and economically valuable”.
No additional venues will be built to keep the costs low but the upgrades such as temporary seating will be made at the above four venues.
The athletes and the officials will stay in the “existing accommodation across the City”.
Reid added that the hotels around the SEC would be used heavily for the athletes.
Continue to follow Coliseum for latest updates on venues business news. Coliseum is dedicated towards building the best global community of sports and entertainment venue executives and professionals creating better and more profitable venues.
Become a member of the only Global Sports Venue Alliance and connect with stadiums, arenas and experts from around the world. Apply for membership at coliseum-online.com/alliance and make use of the 365Coliseum Business.