Glasgow’s bid to host scaled-down Commonwealth Games in 2026 is given Scottish Government backing

The Scottish Government have confirmed that they will back Glasgow’s bid to host a scaled-down version of the Commonwealth Games in 2026, Mail Sport understands.

The Games will now be funded almost entirely by money given back by the Australians after Victoria pulled out of hosting the Games, with £100million coming from the Commonwealth Games Federation and a reported £2.3million more from Commonwealth Games Australia. 

Commonwealth Games Scotland hope to make up the remainder of the money through commercial opportunities, with the cost of the Games slated to be around £114m.

The UK government, meanwhile, have agreed to commit to £2.3m for reserved matters such as national security, on the condition the Scottish Government match that amount and do not use the cash to ‘bolster or enhance’ the sporting extravaganza. They have refused to fully underwrite the cost of the event.

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