Scotsman deputy political editor David Bol at the Commonwealth Games 2026 launch
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00:00Hi there, David Bolt of the Scotsman here. I've been at the launch of the Commonwealth Games 2026 event in Glasgow, where we were formally told that Glasgow will step in and host the Games in 2026.
00:17Obviously it comes ten years after I hosted it the last time, but this is going to be a much different event. It's going to be very much scaled down, there's going to be ten events taking place across four big venues, although the athletics will be taking place at Scotstoun, which is more known for hosting rugby games.
00:32So the hosts were insisting that it would still have a great atmosphere, people would basically be very close to the action, and it would still feel like a big event.
00:41We've also had a little discussion over the finances. There's been a lot of talk about whether the Scottish Government should come in and host the Games, given the financial troubles that the original hosts in Australia had.
00:55John Swinney, Andy and Murray, the Scottish Secretary, both insisting that no public funds will be used to prop up the Games. These big events tend to go over budget if that happens, that there'll be no public funding available.
01:10There's a 24-minute contingency plan in case they do, and they hope they won't have to use it, but it's just there as a reassurance.
01:18There's a bit of confusion though, because John Doig from the Scottish Commonwealth Association basically said that there's no way that it'll get scaled down, so still a little bit of a row over how this is going to be funded and paid for.
01:31But it looks like Scotland has stepped in, and the scaled-down version does look like it's going to be the future of the Commonwealth Games. There's a look at this model being the future of it.
01:42These smaller events, which obviously cut costs for some of the bigger countries, like Australia, who struggled this time, but also opens the door for smaller countries in the Commonwealth to be able to actually host the events themselves.
01:54Obviously we've got a little bit of time to prepare until they take place, but those preparations will be underway now, and hopefully Scotland can put on a good show.