By Mary Pianta
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will be held in Glasgow, the largest city in Scotland, from July 23 to August 2. Glasgow stepped in as the replacement host after Victoria withdrew, due to escalating cost concerns.
The XXIII Commonwealth Games is a multi-sport event, but a scaled-back version featuring 215 events in eleven sports. About 3000 athletes are expected to represent seventy-four Commonwealth teams during ten days of competition.
The King’s Baton was officially launched on 10 March 2025 to mark the start of the 500 days countdown. A new format was introduced where each of the 74 Associations (CGAs) received an individual baton, crafted in Glasgow. Rather than passing a single baton between nations, each CGA had the opportunity to customise its baton to reflect local culture.
An official tartan has been designed for the Games, incorporating vivid blue, pink and purple tones of Glasgow set against a steel grey base. Seventy-four grey threads represent participating nations, while 26 blue threads pay tribute to the year of the Games.
The Opening and Closing Ceremonies are expected to be scaled down compared to previous Games.
Many sports have been dropped from previous Games or have received changes in their formats. Six of the included sports will include a Para sport element: Para Athletics; Para Track Cycling; 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball; Para Swimming; Para Bowls; Para Powerlifting.
The Commonwealth Games will provide one of the best opportunities for Australia’s top athletes to compete on the world stage. The Para sports will be incorporated into the main program. This will give even more chances for spectators to be inspired by athletes overcoming barriers to compete at the highest level.
Para athletes are grouped together based on their classification to ensure fair competition. In Para Athletics (Track and Field only) there are ten eligible impairment types: 8 physical impairments, 1 vision and 1 intellectual impairment. Prefixes are used in the program to distinguish events: T = Track events, F = Field events, e.g., T54 Men’s Wheelchair 1500 m.
Wheelchair Basketball and Para Swimming will be featured during the first six days; Para Athletics and Para Track Cycling during the last week; Para Powerlifting on 24 July; Para Bowls will be played throughout the program. Glasgow 26 will host the largest Para sport program in the event’s history, with 47 medal events across these six sports.
Watch for five athletes who are representing our region. Bendigo-raised track cycling champions, Alessia McCaig and Blake Agnoletto, have had success in team events at previous Games. Henry Allan (17) makes his Games debut after taking gold and silver in backstroke events recently in Sydney. Para-swimming team includes Col Pearse from Bamawm Extension, but now training in Melbourne. He won gold four years ago in Birmingham in the men’s 100 m butterfly for S10 class. Aaron Wilson (now bowling for Cabramatta, NSW) will be chasing a hat-trick of men’s singles titles in Scotland.
For Australian viewers, the Seven Network and 7plus Sport are the official media partners, featuring dedicated 24/7 streaming and nightly prime-time broadcasts throughout the Games.
The Closing Ceremony will include the formal handover of the Flag to the next host city, Ahmedabad in India, for the Commonwealth Games 2030.
Mary Pianta.
Disability Contact Coordinator
Sandhurst Diocese.
