A self-proclaimed skeptic finds joy and connection at the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games opening ceremony, highlighting the city's vibrant spirit.
London, United Kingdom Jul 24, 2026 ALN: It’s around 10pm on the Broomielaw and two young African lads are taking pictures of each other looking over the river near the Bell’s Bridge. Eager to do my bit for Glasgow as a friendly host of the Commonwealth Games, I offer to take their picture together. This is Niven Chemben and Josian Lebon from Mauritius and they’ve just watched the opening ceremony.
“Where can I visit Loch Ness,” says Niven, and I become slightly fearful that he’ll ask about the monster. What would I tell him? That it’s a myth? That wouldn’t be very sporting. And, well … you just never know. Niven, though, just wants to know how far away it is. I tell him it’s only about three and a half hours and that a bus will take them there no bother. “If you’ve got the time, you’ll love it,” I tell them. “It’s a great trip and Scotland looks brilliant all the way up there.
To be fair, Scotland’s looking brilliant down here on the Clyde too and Josian and Niven are enjoying Glasgow. “It’s wonderful to be here,” says Niven. Scotland’s great national beast had featured prominently in that opening ceremony with a smart piece of choreographed, electronic genius and had left its mark on these two Mauritians.
I leave them as the sun sets over the river and my city shimmers in its wake. And with it, the final layer of my cynicism peels away too. That was a grand opening ceremony. It lifted the spirits in ways that troubled me. I’m a journalist FFS, we’re supposed to be detached. We avoid emotional responses, but there were moments during that wee music and dance extravaganza at the Hydro when I had to get a grip of myself.
Greg McHugh and Sir Chris Hoy wave during the opening ceremony (Image: Michael Steele/Getty Images)
King Charles III, Queen Camilla and Sir Chris Hoy step out of the TARDIS (Image: PA)
Graeme Stevely (Grado) is dressed as a teacake during the pre-ceremony show before the opening ceremony (Image: Getty)
Niven Chemben and Josian Lebon from Mauritius (Image: Kevin McKenna)
Sometimes at these moments of national brawness I can be a curmudgeonly weapon, making wee smartass comments about all the contrived jollity. But if I’m being honest, my scepticism had begun to fade as I approached the Hydro. A clutch of African women, looking glorious in their bright orange hats and dresses were dancing all the way along the pavement. At that moment, I was already trying out an intro to this piece: something dutifully world-weary and sarky about how Scotland should be good at any bike events owing to Glasgow being the cycle-lane capital of Europe. Or how we should have got Deliveroo to sponsor the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“Stop being a horse’s arse and get with the vibe,” my daughters would be telling me. I meet my old friend Beverley Lyons, who was once the Glasgow Times’ Tsaress of the night, popping up at all of the city’s new jiggy venues. She’s clad head-to-toe in a green, sequined suit that complements her cheeriness. Beverley had been moved to write a song for the Commonwealth Games. “I just decided to write it as soon as it was announced that Glasgow had stepped up to host it after the Australians pulled out.”
She gives me a wee blast of her singing it on her smartphone, and another sheet of disdain peels away. It’s called Let the Games Begin and it’s already got a few thousand hits on Apple Music. It’s a high-energy number, because Beverley’s a high-tempo gal. The energy is rising, The sweating on my skin, They’re coming from all corners, To play and then to win. “I gave it a wee run-out at Glasgow’s Pride last weekend and it got a brilliant reaction. It’s all about the players. Maybe Scotland’s athletes could adopt it. Wouldn’t that be brilliant?”
We’re meant to avoid doing ‘shout-outs’ in articles like this but what the hell. The music and dance routines in the opening ceremony are absolutely different class, especially when you consider that they only had a few months to produce something from scratch lasting more than an hour. So, Dom Jones (composer), Valtos (a pair of trad and electronic geniuses from Skye), Nathan Evans, Saint Phnx and the two songstresses, Gaia and Eyve: take a bow, ladies and gentlemen.
The opening routine had Sir Chris Hoy and Greg McHugh meeting the first Scottish Doctor Who, Sylvester McCoy, in his Tardis en route to Balmoral to pick up Charles and Camilla to do all the honours. And fair play to Charlie and his missus: as the tardis emerged on to the stage, they stepped out of it to declare Glasgow 2026 open. Tunnock’s tea cakes are in the video montage and some of the other brand landmarks of modern Scotland, such as The Kelpies and then ordinary Glaswegians just going about their day and introducing the city to these, our visitors from 74 nations. There’s no contrived ‘look at us, aren’t we brilliant’ clenched-fist slogans.
It’s when all the African teams make their appearance in their national colours that I get a bit caught up, and I don’t really quite know why, so I just surf the moment. There will be about 3000 athletes spending time in Glasgow over the next couple of weeks. And yes, the city’s not quite looking at its best right now, but you sense that the people – fully aware of this – are stepping up to reduce the deficit.
Malaysia arrive into the arena (Image: PA)
Uganda arrive into the arena during the opening ceremony (Image: PA)
Athletes of Team India take part in the athletes' parade (Image: Getty)
The opening ceremony for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow (Image: PA)
The main reason why the 2014 Commonwealth Games were such a spectacular success was that the punters simply decided to embrace them, so that all those athletes would forever remember how Glasgow welcomed them. There are messages going round the arena, high up on an electronic feed, from local people. “Dear athletes we are so proud of you. It may be a bit dreich, and we might be a bit rough around the edges, but give us a chance. You might struggle with the accents. Enjoy Glasgow, it has a lot to offer.”
And who else spotted the two young women - one in a Celtic top; the other in the blue of Rangers - in the middle of the dancers? At the end they clasped hands. Two days after the SFA report into March’s Glasgow Derby mayhem this could have been mawkish, but it wasn’t. These two old rivals probably have more in common than they think and, for better or worse, they’re one of Scotland’s top attractions.
And it was rather startling, for me at least, to discover how similar our sung traditional Gaelic music sounds to the ancient music of Africa’s heartlands. I really need to say this. That was perhaps the most evocative portrayal of Glasgow I’ve ever seen packed into a 10-minute segment expressed purely through song, dance, video and art with the ever-present Central Station clock presiding over it all.
I only really had one slight gripe, that the music featured Yes Sir I Can Boogie by a 1970s Spanish pop duo and The Proclaimers from the boutique city of Edinburgh. Glasgow has produced some fine singers and rock bands. I’d have had AC/DC’s ‘It’s a Long Way to the Top (if you wanna rock ‘n’ roll)’, born in Glasgow, reared in Australia, How Commonwealth is that? And then you remind yourself once more that this show was put together in a fraction of the time they’d normally have had if Glasgow had been the original nominated hosts.
Those artists and creators did my old city proud. This is a difficult and uncertain time in Glasgow’s story. We kind of needed this.
To learn more about the latest developments in Cultural Events, stay updated with our exclusive reports and analyses on AiLensNews.
