Will Glasgow works be finished before the Commonwealth Games?

The city will host the iconic sporting event in the summer of 2026 after it was confirmed by The Scottish Government this afternoon.

It means the event will coincide with the planned revamp of George Square which is not due to be completed until August, 2026.

When we last hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014, the area was used as a popular visitor hub for the event.

The Big G sculpture became a photo opportunity for tens of thousands of visitors and people from around the world congregated in the square throughout the games.

In the coming years, however, it will be closed off as redesign work takes place.

Hoardings are due to go up around the square early next year after Christmas and New Year festivities are over.

Meanwhile, public realm works in surrounding streets part of the Avenues Project, which aims to transform Glasgow's city centre streets, will start in April 2025 and may stretch until 2027.

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George Square is due to be revamped (Image: Sourced)

The project will form a network of connected routes, giving priority to pedestrians and active travel to make the city centre more accessible for all those who use it.

Now these works could risk sparking disruption for the event as it expects to draw in large crowds and attraction to the city.

However, Glasgow City Council said there are currently no plans to make changes to the Avenues or George Square programme.

The "Core Avenues" have been broadly sub-divided into 3 blocks of activity (Blocks A, B, and C), and it will be delivered through City Deal investment over the period to 2027/28.

The event will be a scaled-down version of the multi-sports event, compared to when the city hosted it in 2014, as no public money will be contributed to supporting it.

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Glasgow previously hosted the Commonwealth Games in 2014 (Image: Sourced)

Instead it is being funded through compensation payments with the stripped down event featuring around 10 sports, four venues, and no athletes village.

We don't know where athletes will stay but it is understood they will rely on hotels.

Scotland has been offered around £100m by Commonwealth Games Australia as part of a compensation package after Victoria officials pulled the plug on the Games.

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George Square could be a construction zone (Image: Sourced)