Does Glasgow want another Commonwealth Games in 2026?

This summer marks 10 years since Glasgow hosted the 2014 Commonwealth Games - an event that could return to the city in 2026.

Commonwealth Games Scotland has offered Glasgow as a back-up plan if games organisers cannot find another host nation.

But with tighter public budgets, a cost of living crisis and the challenges of putting on a major event like this, do Glaswegians really want the games to come back?

Why is Glasgow in the running again?

The Commonwealth Games has faced considerable difficulty in recent years.

The 2022 edition was moved to Birmingham after South African hosts Durban were stripped of the event after a series of missed deadlines and financial problems.

Then Victoria in Australia pulled out as 2026 hosts also citing financial issues.

It left games organisers trying to find another location at short notice.

With a number of venues already built and the 2014 games well attended, Glasgow could appeal as a quick and safe solution.

It was hailed by organisers as a "stand-out" games in the event's history.

It was a sporting success for Scotland too, with the hosts landing 53 medals - the nation's highest ever tally.

What format would the games take?

The 2014 edition featured 18 sports, and just under 5,000 athletes in the city.

This would not be replicated, as Commonwealth Games Scotland has proposed a stripped back edition to save on costs.

Their initial proposal suggested 10 to 13 sports would be held.

Of that number, both athletics and swimming are guaranteed to be on the list with the remainder chosen at the discretion of the hosts.

That could see a sport like hockey selected, given Glasgow has the National Hockey Centre in place, while cycling would almost certainly be picked and held at the Emirates Arena.

The East End venue could hold indoor athletics as well, having welcomed the World Athletics Indoor Championships in March.

Track and field could be a trickier sport to solve, as the 2014 edition used a revamped Hampden Park - a transformation that took considerable time and cost to achieve.

Experts have also stressed that other aspects would be scaled down.

Professor Gayle McPherson is director of the Centre for Culture, Sport and Events at University of the West of Scotland, and also served as a member of the Glasgow 2014 bid committee.

She said: “We’d be looking at a very different games to 2014, though – almost a reset of what the games are. As we live through a cost of living crisis, there’s much more of an appetite to do things differently.

“For example, we might see a pared back opening and closing ceremony, hosted somewhere like the Hydro - and we wouldn’t have dedicated games lanes on the roads as we did last time."

Do Glaswegians want the games back?

This is arguably the biggest question of all.

The 2014 edition saw an estimated 96% of tickets sold, with the city blessed with good weather throughout.

However, 10 years later many Glaswegians are grappling with the ongoing cost of living crisis.

Glasgow City Council is facing the possibility of years of budget cuts, with a reduction in the number of teachers and care workers and a rise in school meal prices among the ways the local authority are seeking to save money.

Organisers say they have undertaken a feasibility study but how much of that involved gauging public opinion?

BBC Scotland News found a variety of views in Glasgow.

Lily McColm, an activity instructor, said: "The funding, depending on where it comes from, will be a concern for a lot of people given the state of the economy at the moment.

"But I think it's important to take part in things like that when the world is rubbish and when times are hard. It's something that can foster a bit of hope."

John Dempsey said: "I think it's a good idea as long as we can afford it.

"Right now the government keep telling us that there's cutbacks. I'd be all for it if it was within a budget we could afford."

Alison Cairns felt the previous Glasgow Games was a "positive experience".

She added: "I think having large events, and sporting events that are not just football, would be a good thing."

Ultimately this rescue plan will live or die on whether the people of Scotland, and Glasgow in particular, have an appetite for something that appears unpalatable to so many others.

How would Glasgow pay for it?

Commonwealth Games Scotland says the event would possess "no significant ask of public funds".

Their proposal uses a " significantly reduced budget costing £130 to £150m", with £100m from the Commonwealth Games Federation.

The balance would be made up through commercial income, such as ticketing, sponsorships and broadcasting rights.

In contrast, the budget for 2014 was £543m, with £425m from the Scottish government and from Glasgow City Council.

This time the council seems to be keeping a safe distance until more is known.

It said there was no Glasgow bid at this stage, and that the proposal had come from Commonwealth Games Scotland - although the council was providing support and technical advice.

Ian Reid CBE, the chair of Commonwealth Games Scotland, said that there was a need for a model that did not rely on large public investment.

He added: "We believe our concept provides the CGF with a viable, cost effective and exciting solution which importantly won’t involve significant sums of public funding."

One way to help save on costs would be to use existing infrastructure, but questions remain regarding other aspects of the plan.

The athletes village built for 2014 has been converted into housing, so another location would be required.

A wider issue is that while potential organisers could sell the prospect of another big sporting event to the public, it’s more difficult to sell an obvious legacy this time around.

There will be no building of new venues, no new housing for an athlete’s village and no huge infrastructure investment for the city.

If the city council is to give the kiss of life to an event many see as in terminal decline, they will have to be creative in explaining why.

What happens next?

The Commonwealth Games Federation says it is working with a number of Commonwealth Games Associations (CGAs) over "further detailed assessments" of possible hosts.

The organisation declined to reveal who the possible hosts were, saying the associations had asked for confidentiality.

They added that a decision could come in May.

However, the frontrunners for the 2030 edition, Canada, have already seen two possible bids, from the province of Alberta and the city of Hamilton, scrapped.

The fact that nobody seems keen on hosting even a streamlined version is ringing alarm bells within the organisation and throwing up questions about the event’s long term future.