Scotland agrees to host Commonwealth Games in 2026

Glasgow is to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games after a deal was backed by the Scottish government.

A scaled-down version of the event, featuring fewer sports and athletes, will return to the city 12 years after it last hosted the Games.

The Australian state of Victoria was originally chosen to stage the multi-sport event but withdrew as host due to rising costs.

Australian authorities have promised "a multi-million pound investment" to help finalise the deal.

Health and Sport Minister Neil Gray held talks with Commonwealth Games Australia yesterday to discuss funding, and received the assurances the Scottish government were looking for.

It has now written to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) to officially back a stripped-back event which will see see 10 sports take place across four venues in the city, with athletics held at Scotstoun Stadium and swimming taking place at Tollcross.

A final decision was taken at a cabinet meeting this morning.

It is understood the Games will come at no cost to the public purse, with funding coming from compensation paid to the CGF after the Australians pulled out.

The UK government will provide financial support in the event of any increased security threat but had refused to completely underwrite the Games.

Gray had previously insisted that there was "a reputation risk as well as financial risk" for Scotland in taking on hosting duties again, and that no public funds could be used.

The total budget for the Games is expected to be about £114m.

Glasgow last hosted the Games in 2014 at a cost of £543m, with 17 sports taking place in an event praised by organisers as the best ever.

The 2026 version will be a more modest affair, but it it is not yet clear which sports will be cut.

There will be no athlete’s village and any opening and closing ceremonies are expected to be scaled back.

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has struggled to find hosts for the event in recent years.

Durban was supposed to be the first city in Africa to stage the Games in 2022, but were stripped of hosting rights in 2017 after running into money troubles.

Birmingham and the British government intervened to save the event, stumping up a combined $1bn for what became the best attended Games on record.

Victoria then dropped out in July 2023 after the projected cost for the event became "well and truly too much" for the state to bear, while other possible hosts such as Malaysia and Singapore declined to step in.

The 12-day competition was expected to cost more than A$6 bn (£3.13bn; $4.09bn).

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly. Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

You can receive Breaking News on a smartphone or tablet via the BBC News App. You can also follow @BBCBreaking on Twitter to get the latest alerts.