Want to run the Commonwealth Games? Scotland search launched for leadership team

A recruitment campaign has been launched to find a chief executive, chief operating officer, and chief finance and corporate services officer who will shape and deliver a scaled-down sustainable Games, with the potential to lay a blueprint for how future events will be run.

Other roles include chief information officer, chief marketing and communications officers (CMO), and several non-executive directors.

It was announced last month that Glasgow would host the 2026 event after the original host, the Australian state of Victoria, withdrew due to concerns over costs. Part of the move involves a compensation package, meaning the Glasgow Games will not require significant public funding to go ahead.

The event will be scaled down compared to the last time Glasgow hosted the Games, in 2014. Then, the event had a total budget of £575.6 million, which included £472.3m for the games themselves and £90m for security measures.

The Games in 2026 will offer just ten to 13 sports, down from 20 at Birmingham 2022 and 17 in 2014. Edinburgh has also previously hosted the games, in 1970 and 1986.

Douglas Adam, a director at recruitment firm Livingston James, which is leading the Commonwealth Games 2026 recruitment campaign, said the right candidates would have a “strong record of innovation, delivering events and operations at scale quickly”.

He said: “This event will be one of the most important and innovative Commonwealth Games ever, and it will take a strong mix of leadership skills and experience to make them a success.

“We are looking for people who have experience of creating, running and delivering major events on tight budgets, with strong logistical skills, and the creativity and vision to make an event of this magnitude happen in a shorter timeframe than we’d normally see.

Mr Adam added: “These will be challenging roles, but that’s often what attracts the greatest talent, and there is no shortage of candidates out there who will be up for delivering a Commonwealth Games that could set a blueprint for how events of this scale can be delivered successfully, sustainably and economically in future.

“Their reward will be the opportunity to leave an indelible mark on the future of the Commonwealth Games, and to help propel Glasgow and Scotland even further into the global spotlight when it comes to hosting large-scale international events.”

Confirming that Glasgow would host the event, health secretary Neil Gray said the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) would cover “the majority of costs using money secured in a compensation negotiation with the Victorian Government following their withdrawal as hosts in July 2023”.

He said the Commonwealth Games Federation has provided a further £20m of funding to support delivery of the event and required contingency, including a £5m investment for Glasgow City Council to use for capital upgrades and a cultural programme.

The UK government has agreed to provide a ringfenced contingency funding of up to £2.3m that can be accessed if existing budget funds and contingency have been exceeded and all efforts to reduce costs have been exhausted.