After Victoria withdrew in 2023, Glasgow answered the SOS name – and organisers say the previous 11 days within the Scottish metropolis have “exceeded all expectations”.
Sure, there have been grumbles – together with from those that have seen parking areas outdoors their homes taken – and taxi drivers and store homeowners the Video games have handed by.
On the bottom, although, this felt like a significant occasion.
Ticket gross sales of 434,000 have been nicely down from 1.5 million for Birmingham 2022, however they have been all the time going to be given the smaller venues for this scaled-back version. It has been uncommon to enter a venue and never discover a joyful, engaged crowd.
There was loads of pleasure for followers, too – Josh Kerr’s golden homecoming at Scotstoun, Angharad Evans making the swimming pool flooring shake, and Neil Fachie’s emotional victory on his return to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Additionally they celebrated Jamaica’s seismic netball win over Australia. Reside sport not often fails to ship.
However a nagging query has remained all through: is anybody else watching?
Large names comparable to Kerr and Adam Ramsay-Peaty – along with his emotional response to taking bronze within the pool – broke out of this Glaswegian bubble, however what else?
Organisers mentioned their social media views handed these of Birmingham throughout the opening few days and highlighted record-breaking tv figures in Australia and New Zealand, the place the Video games have been free-to-air.
Nonetheless, with out that very same protection within the UK, these Video games have – at instances – drifted by.
Glasgow 2026 was additionally damage by the absence or late withdrawal of big-name rivals, significantly in athletics, which missed Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith.
The Video games’ differing relevance between sports activities was once more clear – for netball, this stays the top and is handled as such; for others, it’s a stepping stone. Many narratives targeted on the “subsequent technology”.
Eighteen-year-old Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki was maybe essentially the most thrilling identify to emerge, however gymnasts Ruby Evans (Wales) and Reuben Ward (Scotland) and England observe bicycle owner Henry Hobbs, who received two golds and a bronze, have been others.
Swimmer Faye Rogers impressively introduced her success on the Paralympics again to Glasgow with gold within the pool – after which competed within the non-para occasion as nicely.
Bicycle owner Emma Finucane turned her three Olympic medals in Paris into 4 Commonwealth golds in Glasgow.
All can have their eyes on Los Angeles in 2028.
