This year’s Commonwealth Games have been “phenomenal” and have shown the events have the potential to carry on for another 100 years, the chief executive of Glasgow 2026 has told the Guardian. Phil Batty also said that the revamped Games, which included only 10 sports rather than the 19 in Birmingham four years ago, showcased a formula that made them financially sustainable as they head to Amdavad in 2030.
“What a phenomenal 11 days,” Batty said. “I have had absolute pride in the way that the city and the Commonwealth has come together. These Games have not only exceeded expectations. They have demonstrated that major events can flex and evolve to be fit for purpose in the future.
“What we’ve seen here in Glasgow is that you can put on an incredible Games, which is different but still feels as brilliant as it ever has been, and is ready for the next 100 years. And these Games have proved once and for all that the Commonwealth Games are relevant, the Commonwealth Games matter, and the Commonwealth Games are here to last.”
There have been several criticisms about the Games, ranging from the long list of absentee stars – including Britain’s 800m Olympic champion Keely Hodgkinson, the Canadian swimmer Summer McIntosh and the Olympic 100m champion Julien Alfred, along with limited visibility on TV and the lack of sell-out crowds. However Katie Sadleir, the chief executive of Commonwealth Sport, said she shared Batty’s positive assessment. “These Games have absolutely exceeded my expectations,” she said. “People are talking about it on the streets. I’ve met with athletes. I’ve met with Commonwealth Games Associations and everyone is going away buzzed about what happened.”
Organisers said that the projected spend for the event was £162.6m – a fraction of the £543m spent at Glasgow 2014 and the £680m on Birmingham in 2022. They pointed out that Glasgow had also benefited from £4.7m that had been spent on upgrades, including a new track and replacement pitch at Scotstoun Stadium and the upgrading of Tollcross International Swimming Centre. Organisers also released TV figures showing that 11.4 million people had watched in Australia on Channel 7 and close to four million in Canada on CBC. However, they did not say how many people had watched in Britain, either live on TNT/HBO Max, or through Five’s highlights show.
TV audiences for the opening ceremony were reported to have peaked at about 800,000 on Channel 5, with a further 50,000 on TNT, well down on the five million that watched on the BBC in 2022. However Sadleir defended the decision to choose Warner Brothers Discovery after the BBC made an offer that was said to be a “fraction” of the WBD bid.
“The BBC has been a fantastic partner for a very long period in terms of the Commonwealth Games, and we are doing BBC Radio, so they are involved,” she said. “But I look after the Commonwealth movement of 74 countries, and it is my responsibility to look globally in terms of viewership.”
Some British athletes are concerned their medal-winning performances over the past week have not attracted the interest of previous Games because of the lack of BBC coverage. However Sadleir insisted many people were now streaming and not watching on linear TV. “We are so pleased with the WBD deal,” she said. “The world is moving in terms of how people are consuming sport. I’ve been sitting in the stands with people watching the live sport and seeing them watching HBO Max with their four screens and they’re streaming it.
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“Linear is still very important, but where we’re moving to is a much wider look and feel about how people are consuming the Games. And for £4.99 for 600 hours compared to 200 hours in Birmingham, we are very pleased with that relationship.
“We have a very young demographic that we are trying to attract. Those people aren’t watching linear TV; they are streaming and watching it on their phones and devices.”
