King Charles III officially opened the 23rd Commonwealth Games in Glasgow on Thursday to launch 10 days in a slimmed down event designed to control costs. Around 3,000 athletes from 74 nations and territories will compete for 215 gold medals across 10 sports and six para-sports in the Scottish city, which also hosted the games 12 years ago. Accompanied by his wife Queen Camilla, the King emerged from a Tardis, inspired by British science fiction TV show Doctor Who, to get the opening ceremony off to a jovial start before taking his seat in the 14,000-capacity Hydro arena in the centre of the city. “As we gather, we celebrate the dedication and talent of every athlete and team. Your perseverance inspires us, and we eagerly anticipate your achievements in the coming days,” King Charles said addressing the athletes. “As we share our love of sport, and our planet, let us build a harmonious and durable future, for our families and each other. “It is now my great pleasure to declare the twenty-third Commonwealth Games open.” A first ever indoor opening ceremony for the event, which originated as the British Empire Games in 1930 and is still made up mainly of countries once subject to British imperial rule, is part of a major restructuring of the Games which were on the brink of collapse three years ago. ‘Extraordinary things’ The Australian state of Victoria withdrew as hosts of the event citing spiralling costs in 2023. Glasgow stepped in to fill the breach and keep the Commonwealth Games project on track, but at a quarter of the cost when it hosted 12 years ago and with the sporting programme nearly halved from 19 sports in Birmingham four years ago. “When the future of these Games was uncertain, Glasgow didn’t ask, ‘Can we?’, We asked, ‘When do we get started?’” George Black, Chair of Glasgow 2026, said. “Because that’s what we do. We roll up our sleeves and, together, we make extraordinary things happen.” The indoor venue allowed for the athletes to take to the stage as they were welcomed into the arena with new UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham among those in attendance, alongside Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney. The Falkland Islands’ six-strong team were among those to receive the biggest ovation in the wake of the fallout from Argentina’s World Cup victory over England when Argentine players paraded a banner reading: “Las Malvinas son Argentinas” (The Falklands are Argentine). Argentina invaded the British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic in 1982, but Britain regained the archipelago in a short-lived war. Athletics and swimming lead the bill alongside artistic gymnastics, track cycling, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3x3 basketball. The largest ever para-sport programme at a Commonwealth Games will include athletics, swimming, track cycling, powerlifting, bowls and wheelchair basketball. Fresh from breaking a 27-year world record for the mile on Saturday, Scotland’s Josh Kerr is the poster boy for his home games. Pakistan’s Olympic champion Arshad Nadeem’s showdown for javelin gold with India’s Neeraj Chopra is another highlights of the athletics programme. England’s Adam Peaty goes for gold twice in the 50 and 100m breaststroke at the site where he won his first international medals 12 years ago, while South African Chad Le Clos aims to become the most decorated male athlete in Commonwealth history by adding to his 18 medals. Kieran Canning, AFP
