Glasgow has been proclaimed the saviour of the Commonwealth Games following 11 days of sporting glory in the city.
The city stepped in at the last minute after the original hosts, Victoria, Australia, cancelled due to spiralling costs, putting the event’s future in doubt.
However, with a shorter turnaround than other host cities, Glasgow was able to utilise its experience hosting the 2014 Commonwealth Games to its advantage.
STV News spoke to visitors at Glasgow Airport, who praised the city for stepping in and saving the Games.
One man said: “The athletes work endlessly to be able to compete at something like this. So you know, they most definitely have saved the Games, and you know, they made it important for the athletes, which is key.”
A woman said: “I think I really appreciated the last-minute effort. Because I know there was a short turnaround in hosting the Games, and you would never have noticed.
“Everyone was very locked in and very social, and that was huge. And I was surprised by how smooth it ran.”
One of the athletes praised the Scottish crowd for really supporting all the athletes, calling them “the best ever”.
Now that the games have ended, questions are being asked of organisers about ticket pricing and the impact on venue attendance.
Speaking to STV News, chief executive of Glasgow 2026, Phil Batty, defended ticket pricing.
He said: “We had some tickets that were £150 or £90 for medal event finals, but we had tens of thousands of tickets that were £10, £12, £13 or £17, and I think that shows with the fact that 430,000 people came out and watched the Games live in venues.
“But we did also have a free-to-access live site at Kelvingrove Park that’s had the sport on live every day and been bursting with families enjoying the Games.”
He said he did not regret the approach to ticket pricing as all funds raised through tickets went towards supporting the athletes throughout the event.
When asked if it was fair that some spectators paid as little as a tenner while others paid considerably more, Mr Batty said: “With all multi-sport events, we want to have a range of ticket prices within the venues.
STV News“It’s really important that we have full venues to cheer on our athletes, and that’s what we saw across the full breadth of the sporting competition.”
At the end of the games, Australia finished top of the medal table with 171 medals, including 70 golds, while England finished second.
This was despite the games having to be slimmed down, with only ten sports represented instead of the usual 17.
Host nation, Scotland, finished 5th on the medal table, one place up from 2022, with 39 medals, including 13 golds.
Gold highlights include a double for retiring para-cyclist Neil Fachie and gold for athletes Duncan Scott in the pool and Josh Kerr on the track.
Follow STV News on WhatsApp
Scan the QR code on your mobile device for all the latest news from around the country
