Tomorrow evening will mark the official opening of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games, but fans don’t have long to wait, as the sporting action gets underway ahead of the ceremony.
Bowler Jason Banks will be the first Scottish athlete to compete at Glasgow 2026 when he takes to the rink in the men’s singles competition against Jamaica tomorrow afternoon. Jason gets underway at 13:45 on Thursday at the SEC and after a year of good results the Scot, who made history at the World Indoor Bowls Championships in 2025 with three gold medals, enters the tournament with good confidence.
Team Scotland are raring to go, with athletes settling in and putting the final touches on their preparation.
Team Scotland’s 11 debutant boxers are getting in the zone with a tough and focused training session at the SEC earlier today. Working up a sweat on the pads and on the mats, the athletes are settling into Games life and getting ready to step into the ring from Friday when competition gets underway.
Lara Brown said: “I’m absolutely buzzing, it means the world to represent my country on this big stage and I can’t wait for the boxing to start. We’ve settled into the hotel, got a bit of sharp training in, I’m feeling the fittest and strongest I’ve ever felt so I’m just ready.
The netball squad were sharpening their competitive edge with a friendly match against Tonga this evening as part of their preparations for getting their Commonwealth Games underway on Saturday against New Zealand.
Looking ahead to the Games, Cerys Finn said, “It’s a huge honour to play at these Games. To play with your friends and represent your country, in front of all your family, is really indescribable. Glasgow is such a cool place and I’m really impressed how the city has bought into the Games, and it’s making it such a proud moment for everyone.”
Team Scotland’s swimmers trained at Tollcross International Swimming Centre for the first time this morning as they enter their final preparations phase for the Games.
Following a week of training in Aberdeen, the Swimming and Para Swimming group arrived in Glasgow yesterday. The group, which features 20 debutants, will train for a final time tomorrow before action in the pool begins on Friday.
Jamie Ferguson, competing at his first Games said: “I’m excited to compete at my first Commonwealth Games, particularly in Glasgow in front of a home crowd. I’ve got lots of family and friends coming to watch so that makes it even more exciting. Preparations have been good so far, we had a week up in Aberdeen where they really looked after us and the vibe in the camp has been great. I just can’t wait to get started.”
With just two days to go until the Artistic Gymnastics gets underway, the men’s squad of Hamish Carter, Pavel Karnejenko, Cameron Lynn, Connor Sullivan and Reuben Ward got a first look at the competition equipment as they went through a full dress rehearsal on Wednesday evening. Carter, who won bronze in the Team Event in 2018, will lead the talented quintet in the Team Final on Friday evening.
After using the competition apparatus for the first time, Carter said: “The arena’s amazing, I’m a fan of the colour scheme, I think it looks really unique, really special. All the equipment was amazing, Team Scotland had a great run out today in podium training and we can’t wait to get in the arena on Friday and do our job.”
Tomorrow evening Alex Marshall MBE and Sarah Adlington will lead Team Scotland into the Hydro for the Opening Ceremony where the Glasgow 2026 Games will be declared open.
