The opportunity to reinvent the Commonwealth Games for this summer’s instalment has been ‘a gift’ that means future events can be more adaptable to host nations and cities, according to the chief executive of the Glasgow 2026 organising company.
Speaking on the newly launched Behind the Games podcast from official event delivery partner Trivandi, Phil Batty OBE described how the shortened timeline for this summer has meant reassessing the model of delivery that works for all parts of the Commonwealth.
Taking place from 23 July to 2 August, Glasgow 2026 will be the UK’s biggest sporting event this summer, welcoming 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories to the city. Following a successful proposal by Commonwealth Games Scotland to the event’s governing body, Commonwealth Sport, the Organising Company has been established to deliver the Games, supported by Trivandi, combining world-class sport with a future-focused vision.
Phil Batty OBE said: “The permission to reinvent and reimagine [the Games] has been a gift. Major events take lots of different shapes and sizes, but often they don’t fit in the place they’re being hosted in… and what we’ve done here is we’ve been able to look at all the strengths of Glasgow and design the competition to fit and use the venues to the best of their ability.
“That’s meant, yes, it is going to look different. We’ve taken ten sports, six of which are fully integrated Para sports, and we’ve supercharged them. So you have the largest-ever swimming programme in the history of the Commonwealth Games… We have more track cycling – and we know Glasgow loves cycling – than in Commonwealth Games history.
“And, probably most importantly, we have the largest-ever Para sport medal programme in the Commonwealth Games. The first medal on the first day of the Games will be Para Powerlifting, which has never happened in the history of the Commonwealth Games, and it’s been around for 96 years.
“That’s a bit of the story that’s maybe been lost in the history of time. There was this ten-year commitment to reimagining what the Commonwealth Games looked like… It was only being hosted by a small number of nations, which, if you want to be truly inclusive to the 74 nations and territories, you need to have a model and a fit that can work in all parts of the Commonwealth.
“And that’s exactly what this journey has been about. The partnership has sped that process up and given us that blank sheet of paper – but also with a trusted partner in Glasgow and Scotland – to go, let’s demonstrate what best looks like. Let’s show what a new blueprint, a new prototype, looks like.”
Phil Batty was speaking with James Bulley OBE, CEO and co-founder of Trivandi, and the podcast’s award-winning host and broadcaster Jennifer Reoch. James Bulley was director of venues and infrastructure for the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in 2012 and has worked on a range of other high-profile events and mega projects, including the FIFA World Cup and World Expos.
James Bulley OBE said: “Importantly, you have to take away from this that it’s not one-size-fits-all across every single event. So depending on the city, its infrastructure, investment plans, and what it’s looking to do in terms of why they want the Games, you have to start there.
“That frames what sort of an infrastructure programme, a venue programme, or a scale of Games that you can deliver. So Ahmedabad being the next one after Glasgow, that’s going to be a very different Games again.
“And the idea behind all of this is at the Commonwealth Sport level now is what they call a host collaboration agreement, not a host city contract. And that’s quite key, because the word collaboration is in there. So you’re collaborating with the local host city to work through what is the right plan, right benchmark, the right blueprint for what they’re going to deliver.”
Behind the Games is a six-part podcast series that will provide an in-depth look at how Glasgow 2026 is being delivered in record time and how it will go on to influence the future of major events. You can listen to the podcast in full by searching for ‘Behind the Games’ on all major platforms, including Spotify, YouTube, and Apple.
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