The Commonwealth Games don't begin until 23 July, but across Glasgow's 23 wards, the starting gun has already fired.
This week, organisers announced that the Glasgow 2026 Festival Fund — originally a modest £250,000 grant programme launched last year — has been expanded to £1.25 million, delivering grants of up to £10,000 to 163 community projects across the city.
The reason for the five-fold expansion? Overwhelming demand. More than 400 applications poured in from community groups, artists, sports clubs and social enterprises, far exceeding what anyone had anticipated.
"The response from communities across the city to the Festival Fund is incredible," said Phil Batty OBE, Chief Executive of Glasgow 2026. "It brings to life the magnitude of enthusiasm and local support for the Games returning to Glasgow."
Trapeze Artists, BMX Riders and Basketball Courts
At the fund's launch event at the Old Fruitmarket on Monday, trapeze artists from circus group Aerial Edge soared overhead, offering a vivid taste of the creativity the grants will unleash. They were joined by a colourful cross-section of the 163 funded groups: the Scottish BMX School, which will deliver skills sessions for young riders; Easterhouse Henosis, planning a basketball and family festival in the east end; and Glasgow Frontrunners, who will host a celebration of LGBTQIA+ participation in athletics.
The projects span dance, theatre, music and sport — from Y Dance and Theatre Alliance to Whacking Scotland — and include everything from poetry showcases to cycling accessibility programmes and urban wild spaces for children.
Every funded project aligns with at least one of the festival's three themes: gathering, social justice and celebration. The aim is to increase participation in arts, culture and sport while creating lasting community impact — a legacy that outlives the Games themselves.
A City-Wide Celebration
The Glasgow 2026 Festival runs from 23 May to 9 August, wrapping around the Commonwealth Games (23 July to 2 August) with a summer-long programme of performances, events and community activities. The Games themselves will feature 10 sports and six Para sports, with 3,000 athletes from 74 nations competing over 11 days.
But it is the grassroots energy that has caught organisers by surprise.
"Major sporting events can spark inspiration and joy when co-created with the grassroots organisations that work in Glasgow's communities every day," Batty added. "The 163 local projects announced today demonstrate that when you trust artists, sports clubs and community groups to deliver engagement, they will rise to the opportunity."
The expanded fund has been made possible through a partnership between Glasgow 2026, Commonwealth Sport, the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and sportscotland.
Health Secretary Neil Gray MSP said the fund showed how the Games could deliver benefits "that extend far beyond" the sporting competition itself. "I'm pleased the Scottish Government can support an initiative that, through a range of exciting community-led events, will provide opportunities for Glasgow residents to participate in arts, sports and cultural activities during our fantastic summer of sport."
"Glaswegians Are Going to Rise to the Occasion"
Council leader Susan Aitken struck a note of civic pride: "With well over 150 local events taking place in every ward across the city before, during and after Glasgow 2026, we're making sure everyone has an opportunity to get involved.
"This is going to be a once-in-a-generation celebration of our city, its people and its culture and, as they always do, Glaswegians are going to rise to the occasion."
For a city that hosted a transformative Commonwealth Games in 2014, the message is clear: the best Games are the ones that belong to everyone — and this time, Glasgow isn't waiting for the opening ceremony to prove it.
