Games organisers hoping for late ticket sales surge at opening bash

By the Editorial Team · Thursday, July 23, 2026

Glasgow is hosting the Commonwealth Games opening ceremony tonight at the OVO Hydro, with organizers hoping to boost ticket sales amid available seats and a smaller-scale event compared to 2014. The reduced size follows the withdrawal of co-host Victoria due to costs, leading to fewer tickets on sale and efforts to engage fans, such as offering free tickets to Scotland’s Tartan Army supporters.

As Glasgow prepares to host the opening ceremony of the Commonwealth Games tonight, organisers are hoping for a last-minute increase in ticket sales, with several events and the ceremony itself still having tickets available. The event marks the return of the Games to the city, but with a noticeably reduced scale compared to the 2014 edition.

The opening ceremony will take place at the OVO Hydro, a 13,000-capacity arena, where tickets remained on sale as of yesterday, ranging from £45 to £95 for adults. The programme will include live music, the parade of nations, and the arrival of all 74 Commonwealth batons. Among the notable participants is Sir Chris Hoy, the six-time Olympic cycling champion who announced in 2024 that he is living with stage-four cancer.

This year’s Games differ significantly from the 2014 Glasgow event, which saw its opening ceremony held at Celtic Park with an audience exceeding 40,000. That event included a speech by Queen Elizabeth II formally declaring the Games open. The current iteration has been scaled down, following the withdrawal of the Australian state of Victoria as a co-host, citing rising costs as a key factor. As a result, only around 500,000 tickets have been made available for the entire Games, less than half of the 1.2 million released for the 2014 Games.

Organisers have encountered questions about ticket demand, with reports indicating slower sales and more muted public interest compared to the previous Glasgow Games. Ticket prices vary widely across disciplines. For example, tickets for bowls and para bowls start at £10, while tickets for tomorrow’s swimming session, which features Olympic gold medallist Adam Peaty, start at £90.

In an effort to boost attendance and acknowledge supporters, members of Scotland’s Tartan Army football supporters club were offered free tickets to selected events, including athletics, para powerlifting, netball, and 3x3 basketball. Organisers described this initiative as a gesture of thanks to fans who supported Scotland at the recent World Cup.

The opening ceremony will showcase prominent Scottish athletes leading their delegation, including lawn bowler Alex Marshall and double judo champion Sarah Adlington. England’s flag bearers will be lawn bowler Sian Honnor, who has won titles in Glasgow and Birmingham, and swimmer Luke Greenbank, a gold medallist in relay events from the 2022 Games.

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