Overview
- King Charles III declared the 23rd Commonwealth Games open at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro on Thursday, July 23, and competition began immediately with events scheduled through August 2.
- Organisers delivered a deliberately compact Games on an estimated £150–160 million budget by using existing 2014 venues, avoiding new permanent construction and housing athletes in hotels and campuses.
- The programme has been cut to 10 sports and 215 gold medals, with about 3,000 athletes from 74 nations competing, a change that reshapes medal opportunities compared with previous editions.
- Glasgow 2026 fields the largest integrated para‑sport programme in Commonwealth history, with six para‑sports, more than 450 para‑athletes and 47 para medals included in the main schedule.
- India’s delegation, led in the Parade of Nations by Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain, faces reduced medal prospects because wrestling, badminton, hockey, shooting and table tennis were excluded, and some broadcasters changed rights holders which may affect viewing access in several countries.