Glasgow is efficiently hosting the 23rd Commonwealth Games on a significantly reduced budget, featuring 3,000 athletes and India's participation amidst changes to traditional medal-winning sports.
IMAGE: Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain during the opening ceremony of the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday.
Photograph: Phil Noble/ReutersKey Points Glasgow is hosting the 23rd Commonwealth Games, a scaled-down event with a significantly reduced budget.
IMAGE: Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and Boxer Lovlina Borgohain lead India's contingent as flag-bearers during the Commonwealth Games 2026 opening ceremony, in Glasgow on Thursday.
India's Participation And Future HostingIMAGE: India's contingent poses for a group photograph during the Commonwealth Games 2026 opening ceremony, in Glasgow on Thursday.
Glasgow is efficiently hosting the 23rd Commonwealth Games on a significantly reduced budget, featuring 3,000 athletes and India's participation amidst changes to traditional medal-winning sports.
IMAGE: Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain during the opening ceremony of the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday. Photograph: Phil Noble/Reuters
Key Points Glasgow is hosting the 23rd Commonwealth Games, a scaled-down event with a significantly reduced budget.
Approximately 3,000 athletes from 74 nations are competing in 10 sports, including para events, at existing venues.
King Charles III is inaugurating the Games, which run until August 2.
India is represented by 123 athletes, with Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain as flag bearers.
India's medal prospects are affected by the omission of high-yielding sports; Ahmedabad will host a full-fledged CWG in 2030.
The opening ceremony of the scaled-down 23rd Commonwealth Games began in Glasgow on Thursday, marking the second time the Scottish city has hosted the multi-sport event in 12 years.
Olympic medallists Mirabai Chanu and Lovlina Borgohain were India's flag and baton bearers at the opening ceremony.
The ceremony at the OVO Hydro will formally launch what is set to be the leanest Commonwealth Games in more than three decades, with around 3,000 athletes from 74 Commonwealth nations and territories competing in just 10 sports spread across four venues.
Six of those sports will simultaneously host para events, reinforcing the organisers' vision of an an inclusive Games.
This edition is running on a shoestring budget, with Glasgow stepping in to stage the event after Australia's Victoria state withdrew because of escalating costs.
IMAGE: Weightlifter Mirabai Chanu and Boxer Lovlina Borgohain lead India's contingent as flag-bearers during the Commonwealth Games 2026 opening ceremony, in Glasgow on Thursday. Photograph: @narendramodi X/ANI Photo
Having successfully staged the 2014 edition, the Scottish city has once again opened its doors, this time delivering the event on a budget of around 160 million pounds, nearly 60 percent lower than Birmingham 2022, by relying entirely on existing venues and infrastructure.
Glasgow Hosts Lean Commonwealth Games
King Charles III is attending the opening ceremony along with Queen Camilla, and will inaugurate the scaled-down multi-sport event, the organisers said on Friday.
King Charles III will read out the message he had placed into the King's Baton on Commonwealth Day on March 10, 2025, at Buckingham Palace, marking the official opening of the Games, which will continue until August 2.
India's Participation And Future Hosting
IMAGE: India's contingent poses for a group photograph during the Commonwealth Games 2026 opening ceremony, in Glasgow on Thursday. Photograph: @narendramodi X/ANI Photo
India is being represented by 123 athletes in eight able-bodied and five para sports.
India had won 61 medals, including 22 gold, in the 2022 CWG in Birmingham, but this time, the tally will take a hit due to the omission of its traditionally high-yielding disciplines like shooting, hockey, badminton, wrestling and cricket.
India is hosting the next edition of the CWG in Ahmedabad in 2030, which will be a full-fledged one with 17 sports in the roster.
