Now that Glasgow has been confirmed as the host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games, the work must begin to maximise the benefits of the £100 million inward investment that has been committed to the city by the Commonwealth Games Federation.

There is a real opportunity over the next two years to win even more investment for Glasgow and boost the economy by ensuring the supply chain for the Games maximises the use of Glaswegian and Scottish businesses.

But we must also be cognisant of the fact these Games will not be on the grand scale we saw in 2014. There will be fewer sports at fewer venues. Crucially, the agreement for Glasgow to host the Games involves no public money being spent on the Games when, last time around, £425 million of public investment supported the Games, but left us with world-class sports facilities that makes hosting the Games again relatively straightforward.

READ NEXT: Glasgow can reinvent the Commonwealth Games for the future

Nonetheless, the 2026 Commonwealth Games will still be a tremendous spectacle that will put Glasgow on the world stage once again and offer an opportunity to break our downward trajectory in recent years – giving Glaswegians a reason to be proud of their city again.

(Image: Richard Heathcote)

In the discussions surrounding the Commonwealth Games making a return to Glasgow, there has been no shortage of sceptics. I understand these concerns, the legacy of the 2014 Games was not fully realised due to the decade of cuts to the city that followed – but this is an opportunity not just to host another transient sporting event but to get the whole of Greater Glasgow back on track as one of Europe’s great metropolises.

READ NEXT:Concerns as homelessness goes up while housebuilding falls

When Glasgow has hosted other major events in recent years, we see the streets spruced up for the duration of the event only to fall back into a mess once it’s over. This has of course led Glaswegians to feel as though these events happen around them, but not with them. It is as though Glasgow’s transport system only works when dignitaries and a global audience are in town. Glaswegians deserve better and we should ensure that the Games doesn’t just bring a temporary cash injection to save face but makes a permanent improvement to how the Glasgow City Region is managed as Scotland’s economic heart.

The Scottish Government and Strathclyde Partnership for Transport should use the 2026 date as a target to permanently extend the Subway’s operating hours after midnight and on Sundays while finally taking back public control of the city region’s bus network, catching up with Greater Manchester. During COP 26 we saw the Subway stay open for longer but then returning to its usual part-time service as soon as the conference finished – this time it must be different. A true legacy from the Games could be the delivery of a fully integrated public transport system.

(Image: Colin Mearns)

The UCI World Cycling Championships that took place last year attracted the world’s best cyclists to Glasgow. Again, the council spruced up the city’s streets. Today, the streets are unclean and road repairs have slipped across the city – it is no wonder there is a degree of scepticism about hosting major events but this is a symptom of how badly underfunded Glasgow is as Scotland’s only metropolitan city, the Games should see this antiquated situation properly addressed so that Glasgow can operate like a true city region of 1.8 million people, a third of Scotland’s population.

The Commonwealth Games will return to Glasgow in just under two years’ time, until then, it must be all hands-on deck to ensure our great city can seize this opportunity as a springboard to growth and permanent improvements. However, it must not be a transient spectacle that only an exclusive few see any benefit from; it must leave every Glaswegian with a permanently enhanced city region that can punch above its weight on the world stage again.