John Swinney reveals why already-scaled back Glasgow Commonwealth Games could be cut further

The First Minister said the Scottish Government had reached an agreement with the Commonwealth Games Foundation, which meant no public funding was required for the event.

But the situation has become mired in confusion after the chief executive of Commonwealth Games Scotland insisted the event would not be scaled down further - leading to Scotland’s two governments being accused of “pouring cold water over the plans”.

The slimmed-down version of the games is set to become the norm. Budgets are unlikely to return to levels seen previously amid tight funding demands, but will open the door to smaller Commonwealth nations being able to host the event in future years.

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Speaking to journalists at an event in Glasgow on Tuesday as the “slimmed-down” number of sports was announced, the First Minister pointed to the perilous state of public finances.

Asked if an increase in costs could result in the ten sports announced for the games being cut further, Mr Swinney said: “That’s obviously to be avoided.

“But what that puts is the onus on making sure that there is effective financial control in place around the preparation of the Games. That is what I know the board will be focusing on.”

The First Minister said there could not and would not be a situation where public money was spent on the Games.

He said: “I’ve been very clear with the public that there are huge pressures on the public finances, so there could not be a call on the public finances for any financial support.

“We have secured assurance on both the preparatory time and also on the control of costs, that there will be no call on the public purse and, indeed, there cannot be a call on the public purse by the agreement that we have negotiated.

“I am confident the public purse is protected.”

While he accepted the “tough times” financially, Mr Swinney said it was important to “celebrate excellence”, while touting the estimated £100 million in inward investment the Games would bring to Scotland’s biggest city.

Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said there “won’t be a penny of public money from either government”. He said: “There is no public money available to spend on the Games.”

The funding provided, Mr Swinney added, would also cover the cost of policing.

The Scottish Police Federation previously raised concerns about how the security of the Games would be funded. But Mr Swinney said: “These are costs that are implicit in the funding of the Commonwealth Games and it’s important that those costs are met from within that budget.”

But asked if costs increase, would the Games be scaled back further, chief executive of Commonwealth Games Scotland, Ian Doig said: “No.”

He added: “Within the overall budget, there’s £10m of contingency through the Commonwealth Games Federation. There’s another £14m of contingency built into the budget as well.”

The Scottish Conservatives have criticised Mr Swinney and Mr Murray over their stance on the financing of the Games.

Scottish Conservative shadow minister for sport, Brian Whittle, said: “The return of the Commonwealth Games to Glasgow is an exciting opportunity for Scotland, so it’s disappointing to hear the UK and Scottish governments’ negativity about the organisers’ ability to bring the event in on budget.

“I would have hoped that, at a time when the SNP have so badly mismanaged the public finances that they’re slashing public services, they’d be thinking about how to make sure these Games are a success that boosts the economy of Glasgow and Scotland.

“The 2014 Commonwealth Games were a triumph for Glasgow. The Scottish and UK governments should be talking about how they can make these scaled-back Games as big a success as possible, not pouring cold water over the plans.”

The First Minister said the new “slimmed-down” programme could also inform how future games are hosted, claiming the event “has got to change if it’s going to go forward in future years”. He said the previous model seen in Glasgow in 2014 of a massive event “has probably had its day”.

Mr Doig also said the smaller version of the Games in 2026 could produce “a model to be used for the Games in the future”.

He said: “The re-scaling of the Games and the resetting of the Games that we’ve gone and done actually gives a model for countries to come through, and they will put their own stamp on it.”

The Games will feature a ten-sport programme across four venues within an eight-mile corridor, with more than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.

Athletics and swimming are included as compulsory sports for 2026, while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball.

There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports – athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

Among the sports missing out compared to the 2022 Games in Birmingham are triathlon, diving, hockey, T20 cricket, squash, badminton and rugby sevens.

Mr Doig said a mascot for the Games would be “developed in due course”, while there would be the potential for “a different way to do opening ceremonies”, suggesting a large-scale event may not take place.

He moved to reassure the flagship athletics events taking place at the modest Scotstoun stadium, which he said would offer a capacity for spectators of around 11,000 with “specific stands brought in” and the temporary stands “extended to wrap around”.

Mr Doig added: “When the athletes are running round in that venue and the spectators right on top of them, you’ll have an absolutely fantastic atmosphere.

“We haven’t got time to go through and do a Hampden as we did in the past. We’re really confident, in terms of the proposal we’ve actually got, [that] will provide a really good event.”