Sponsorship expert Sarah Niblock argues that the scaled-down 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow presents a rare and genuinely accessible opportunity for smaller brands.
The 23rd Commonwealth Games is now under way in Glasgow, with the King emerging from a Tardis and a giant spaceship-like teacake descending from the roof of The Hydro in the opening ceremony.
Glasgow previously hosted the games in 2014 as a fully fledged multi-sport international event, but this edition is a noticeably slimmer version of that occasion.
The games were originally scheduled to take place in Victoria, Australia, before the state pulled out after costs nearly trebled from initial forecasts to around £3bn.
Victoria still had to pay a £300m cancellation fee to exit its hosting obligations, plus an estimated £200m already spent before that decision was made.
Glasgow stepped in with less than two years to prepare, operating under a reduced budget framework now called the Glasgow Model, without central funding from either Holyrood or Westminster.
The Glasgow Model has seen around £100m come in from the Commonwealth Games Federation, with organisers needing to generate a further approximately £50m through commercial ventures including ticket sales, broadcast rights and partnerships.
The number of sports has been reduced from 20 to 10, with rugby sevens, hockey, badminton, triathlon, and non-track cycling all dropped, which Niblock notes potentially lessens the appeal to commercial partners.
Broadcast rights have been sold to TNT Sports in the UK, with streaming on HBO Max and highlights on Channel 5 and BBC Alba, meaning much of the coverage sits behind a subscription wall.
Principal partners include household names such as Bupa, EDF, Coca-Cola and Longines, but also Ideagen, named as the first Official AI Technology Principal Partner of the Commonwealth Games.
Ideagen focuses on safety, compliance and quality across sectors including aviation, life sciences and energy, and the partnership represents a significant step up in sponsorship profile for the tech company.
Niblock describes this as a strong example of reciprocal relevance, which she considers absolutely crucial to any successful sponsorship arrangement.
“This year’s games, especially for companies like Ideagen, isn’t really about displaying your brand in front of hundreds of thousands of spectators in venues and at home on screens, it’s about showcasing your area of expertise and highlighting what you do best by putting it in an accessible context that people can actually see working,” Niblock writes.
Other partners include Trespass clothing, BYD cars, Jubel beer and Indian food and dairy brand Amul, whose involvement reflects the fact that the 2030 games are to be held in India.
Niblock highlights Tens Sunglasses as a strong example of a brand that the scaled-down model has brought into the fold as a Team Scotland partner, combining athlete endorsement with supporter discounts.
For smaller businesses without in-house sponsorship expertise, the reduced rights fees create temptation, but Niblock cautions that rights fees are only the beginning of what any major partnership truly costs.
Activation costs, whether experiential for an FMCG brand, customer offers for a services brand, or content and communications for a B2B brand, must all be factored into any honest assessment of value.
One eyebrow-raising feature of the games, Niblock notes, is the repeated prominent presence of a foil-covered teacake brand that is neither a sponsor nor a supplier to the Commonwealth Games.
A giant version of the confectionery descended from the roof of The Hydro in the opening ceremony finale, prompting Niblock to describe the situation as guerilla ambush marketing by the actual rights holder.
Despite that puzzling anomaly, Niblock concludes with genuine admiration for Glasgow 2026, crediting the city with rescuing the games and delivering a credible sponsorship roster under exceptional constraints.