Over 3,000 athletes from 74 nations are set to descend on Glasgow for the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
Held every four years, the upcoming Games features a 10-sport programme and also includes six para-sport disciplines, where the greatest athletes will be battling for gold.
Here's everything you need to know about the Commonwealth Games.
Dates
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place from Wednesday 23rd July to Sunday 2nd August.
The next edition of the Commonwealth Games is scheduled for October 2030.
Location
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be hosted in Scotland's largest city, Glasgow.
It was only announced in September 2024 that Glasgow will be hosting the Games after the Australian state of Victoria, who were initially unveiled as the host in April 2022, opted to withdraw in light of escalating cost projections.
There was a possibility that the Games might be postponed until a year or later or cancelled entirely until Glasgow stepped in to fill the void. However, due to the quick turnaround and funding concerns, Glasgow will be hosting a scaled-back version of the Commonwealth Games, with just 10 sports taking place across seven venues - and with no athletes' village.
Read our full 2026 Commonwealth Games Venue Guide on site.
Sports
Glasgow's 10 sports is the lowest offering at a Commonwealth Games since 1994. However, there is still plenty of action to look forward to across the 11 days.
The two mandatory sports that have been staged at all previous Commonwealth Games, Athletics and Swimming have 43 and 42 events respectively.
Track cycling has the third-most events with 18, ahead of Weightlifting (16), Artistic Gymnastics (14), Boxing (14) and Judo (14).
Bowls, 3x3 Basketball and Netball complete the list.
Six of the aforementioned sports will include a Para sport element. These are: Para Athletic, Para Track Cycling, 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball, Para Swimming, Para Bowls, and Para Powerlifting.
Due to these Games being scaled back, sports that have been dropped from the schedule include: rugby sevens, field hockey, badminton, triathlon, T20 cricket, squash, diving, table tennis, beach volleyball, rhythmic gymnastics, and wrestling.
List of 2026 Commonwealth Games sports:
- 3x3 basketball
- Wheelchair 3x3 basketball
- Artistic gymnastics
- Athletics
- Para-athletics
- Bowls
- Para bowls
- Boxing
- Cycling
- Track cycling
- Para track cycling
- Judo
- Netball
- Swimming
- Para swimming
- Weightlifting
- Para powerlifting
History
A quadrennial multi-sport event, the Commonwealth Games unites the 56 member states under the British Commonwealth, of which the vast majority are former territories of the British Empire.
While the origin of the Games date back to 1911 with the staging of an Inter-Empire Championship in London, the first Commonwealth Games wasn't held until 1930.
The city of Hamilton in Canada embraced hosting duties for the inaugural Games as 11 teams - Australia, Bermuda, British Guiana, Canada, England, Ireland, Newfoundland, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales - competed in athletics, boxing, lawn bowls, swimming and diving, rowing and wrestling.
Rapidly evolving since its first staging, the Commonwealth Games has been held every four years since (with the exception of 1942 and 1946 due to the Second World War) with twenty cities in nine countries performing host duties.
Unlike the Olympics, the Commonwealth Games permit representation from fifteen Commonwealth Games Associations that are not sovereign states. These include the four Home Nations of the United Kingdom (England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland), the Crown Dependencies (Guernsey, Jersey & Isle of Man), several British Overseas Territories, Norfolk Island (Australia) and Niue (New Zealand).
The Commonwealth Games upholds unique traditions, including the King's Baton Relay - a relay around the world prior to the Games commencing - and the ceremonial hoisting of the Commonwealth Games flag.
Only six national federations have participated in every Commonwealth Games: Australia, Canada, England, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales.
