In 2014, the Commonwealth Games came to Glasgow – and it’s returning to our city once again in 2026. It was the largest multi-sport and cultural event ever held in Scotland, and its legacy is one we’re still reaping the benefits of today.
Success in numbers
It was an event on a scale we had never seen before in Scotland. Seven years of planning; 7,000 athletes and officials; 71 nations represented; 17 sports; and over 690,000 visitors came to the city for the Games. An incredible feat; but the legacy that it’s left behind is even more staggering. Amongst a range of impacts (that you can read about here, if you’re interested these games brought an estimated £740 million contribution to Scotland’s Gross Value Added (GVA) – £390 million of which was local to Glasgow.
This value included businesses making the most of all that the games brought to Glasgow – and with the event returning to our City, albeit on a smaller scale than in 2014, it’s time to plan how you’ll maximise its impact for your business. And we’ve got some advice that might help.
Maximising benefit for your business
The next Commonwealth Games will take place in Glasgow from the 23rd July – 2nd August 2026. Scaled back from 2014’s efforts to deliver a leaner, more sustainable event, it will take place across four venues, feature ten sports, and welcome 3,000 competitors from 74 commonwealth nations. And you don’t need to be an official partner of the upcoming games, to maximise benefits for your business. You can absolutely make the most of the buzz, the influx of visitors, and the wider narrative that’s driving local excitement. But with less than a year to go – it’s time to get planning. Here are some ideas to help you get started.
Lead with experience
Experience-led marketing is a great way to create a memorable link between you and visitors to Glasgow. With an influx of tourists coming to the city, think of new ways that you could engage them with your business. Maybe it’s a pop-up tasting, an in-store ‘sporting challenge’, or an in-venue pinned map where guests put a pin in the country they’re from – creating a fresh, real-life experience can add to the fun of the occasion.
Tweak your offer strategically
Assess how you can adapt your existing offer – or craft a fresh offer – for the duration of the games. Can you provide an experience or service that takes place around key events in the Games schedule, making the most of high-traffic footfall exiting nearby venues into the wider city? Or can you create a limited-edition product for the duration of the games? It might be a hotel bundle, some bespoke menu items, or free ‘day itineraries’ for guests visiting Glasgow.
A great example of the latter was Caledonian Brewery’s Commonwealth Gold ale, available only during the 2014 games. If you’re creating bespoke products, consider tying in with local producers, artists, or Glasgow-based collaborators – it will make for a better story and reinforce the sense of community that surrounds events like these!
Delivery digitally – now!
With less than a year to go, you should already be prepping to embed the games into your digital strategy, in some shape or form. And there are plenty ways you can do this, in a way that benefits your business.
Look out for Glasgow guides, travel platforms, and online maps, and if relevant, ask to be included. Whether it’s a foodie guide, a map of local hotspots, or wider materials being created to promote Glasgow to tourists during the year – there will be plenty of opportunities you just need to find the right one. As well as raising awareness of your business, these types of link are great for your SEO too.
Think about your content across your digital channels, and what you can do to build in the theme. Could you create fun videos around your team’s favourite sports? If you have a podcast or blog – build in an episode or content about the games and what it means for your business. Or create an instagrammable backdrop for customers to take a selfie in front of and increase your user generated content. There’s loads of fun ways you can activate on your channels!
And finally – be sure to research what hashtags and locations are being used for games content and tie in with these across your own. It’s a great way to encourage more traffic to your posts!
In the spirit of sponsorship
Another way you can get involved is to take on the mission of the games itself and use it to deliver a true social impact in the local community. You could sponsor a grass-roots sports team, highlight local sporting heroes across your social media, or do some work for local charities who are helping young people. Do a bit of good – and speak about it in an honest, authentic way.
A cheeky campaign
Glaswegians are well known for their charming – but cheeky – patter. Keep an eye on slogans and campaigns around the Games and consider how you could subtly tweak these to create your own. You don’t need to break the rules – in fact it’s very important you follow these to a tee and don’t fall foul of any trademark or copyright laws. But you could create closely related content or merchandise that cutely plays on the buzz around the games themselves.
If you need to be sold on the impact something like this can have, the beloved Tunnock’s Teacake was featured in the 2014 Games’ opening ceremony. According to the company – via an article in The Herald – this small involvement with the games resulted in an additional 15 million sales, in the year following the games.
The boring – but important – bits
It’s all very well getting creative with new ideas and activations, but preparation is key to maximising the benefits that the next Games will undoubtedly bring to Glasgow. Get your people and your premises ready; invest in training; scale up for additional footfall; and connect with local business networks to share learnings and gear up for what’s coming.
Try and test any fresh ideas you have for the games, and plan in plenty of time to hit the ground running when July arrives. By getting the basics right, you’ll lay great foundations for the more exciting bits happening for the duration of the games.
If we’ve piqued your interest with some of the ideas mentioned here, and you’d like to chat more about your plans for next summer – get in touch for a chat!
