Glasgow welcomes the world as King and Queen arrive by TARDIS to open Commonwealth Games
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games began with a celebration of Scottish music, humour and identity as stars, athletes and royalty gathered at the OVO Hydro.
King Charles and Queen Camilla made a memorable entrance by stepping out of Doctor Who’s TARDIS inside the OVO Hydro.
It was the opening moment of a ceremony designed as a love letter to Glasgow. It celebrated the city’s people, industries, music, nightlife and ability to deliver a major international event at short notice.
The sequence began on a curved screen stretching 50 metres across the arena. The TARDIS was shown travelling through Scotland, taking in Loch Ness, the Kelpies and Edinburgh Castle before stopping at Balmoral.
Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy and actor Greg McHugh appeared at the controls. They were joined on screen by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy, who played the seventh incarnation of the Doctor, in a surprise cameo that was greeted by cheers from the audience.
The police box then disappeared from the screen and materialised on the Hydro stage. Hoy emerged first, followed moments later by the King and Queen through a cloud of mist and into the cheers of the crowd.
This was the first Commonwealth Games opening ceremony to be staged entirely inside an arena. In another break with tradition, the athletes entered before the main performance began, allowing them to join the crowd and watch the rest of the ceremony.
Teams representing 74 Commonwealth nations and territories walked around a living garden at the centre of the arena, accompanied by a soundtrack created by Skye electro-folk group Valtos and musicians from across the Commonwealth.
Messages of encouragement from Glasgow children appeared around the venue as the athletes arrived. The smallest delegations were greeted as enthusiastically as the largest, while traditional performances by teams including New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa added to the colour and noise.
The biggest reception was reserved for Team Scotland. The host team, wearing tartan kilts, was led into the arena by veteran bowls champion Alex “Tattie” Marshall and judo star Sarah Adlington.
Sam Heughan delivered one of the evening’s most distinctly Scottish performances. The Outlander actor appeared in a filmed sequence searching for the Loch Ness Monster before appearing in person and helping to lure a giant mechanical Nessie into the arena.
The creature emerged as pipers and drummers struck up Flower of Scotland.
The show then followed a day in the life of Glasgow. A musical meeting unfolded beneath the clock at Central Station before performers traced the city’s history through its textile industry, shipyards and modern engineering.
Dancers appeared to weave a giant piece of fabric carrying the People Make Glasgow message in Gaelic. The production also celebrated the communities, workers and characters who have shaped the city.
Louisa Mahon, Glasgow 2026’s chief marketing and ceremonies officer, described the show as “a love letter to Glasgow”, stretching from its industrial heritage to the creative and passionate city it has become.
Nathan Evans and Saint PHNX performed Home during the Glasgow Central sequence, while Nina Nesbitt joined the Glasgow Madrigirls for a reworked version of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Callum Beattie led the audience into Yes Sir, I Can Boogie as the production shifted towards a celebration of Glasgow nightlife. The stage filled with dancers, glittering stars and sparkling unicorns as the Central Station clock was transformed into a kaleidoscope.
Tom Walker performed Leave a Light On, before headliner KT Tunstall brought the ceremony towards its conclusion with songs including No Scotland, No Party and Suddenly I See.
Nathan Evans and Saint PHNX returned for the finale, which also featured the emergence of a giant Tunnock’s Teacake above the stage. The artists performed alongside hundreds of volunteer cast members recruited from Glasgow, Scotland and beyond.
The King and Queen were joined at the ceremony by the Duke of Edinburgh.
Other prominent guests included Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey and Commonwealth Sport president Dr Donald Rukare.
Rukare addressed the arena wearing a Wallace tartan kilt reworked in the colours of his native Uganda. He thanked Glasgow for stepping forward to host the event and said Commonwealth sport was about connection as well as competition.
The King received the final baton and read the message placed inside it at the launch of the relay. He described the Commonwealth as a “unique and extraordinary family of nations” and praised the dedication of the athletes.
He also used his speech to highlight plastic pollution in oceans and waterways before formally declaring the 23rd Commonwealth Games open.
The first full day of competition brings 14 gold-medal events. Nine will be decided in swimming and Para swimming, four in Para powerlifting and one in artistic gymnastics.
Scottish medal hopes Duncan Scott, Stephen Clegg and Faye Rogers are among those competing in the pool. Olympic champion Adam Ramsay-Peaty also begins his 100m breaststroke campaign.
Boxing, 3x3 basketball and 3x3 wheelchair basketball get under way, while bowls and Para bowls continue following their opening matches.
The Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games began with a celebration of Scottish music, humour and identity as stars, athletes and royalty gathered at the OVO Hydro.
King Charles and Queen Camilla made a memorable entrance by stepping out of Doctor Who’s TARDIS inside the OVO Hydro.
It was the opening moment of a ceremony designed as a love letter to Glasgow. It celebrated the city’s people, industries, music, nightlife and ability to deliver a major international event at short notice.
The sequence began on a curved screen stretching 50 metres across the arena. The TARDIS was shown travelling through Scotland, taking in Loch Ness, the Kelpies and Edinburgh Castle before stopping at Balmoral.
Six-time Olympic cycling champion Sir Chris Hoy and actor Greg McHugh appeared at the controls. They were joined on screen by Scottish actor Sylvester McCoy, who played the seventh incarnation of the Doctor, in a surprise cameo that was greeted by cheers from the audience.
The police box then disappeared from the screen and materialised on the Hydro stage. Hoy emerged first, followed moments later by the King and Queen through a cloud of mist and into the cheers of the crowd.
This was the first Commonwealth Games opening ceremony to be staged entirely inside an arena. In another break with tradition, the athletes entered before the main performance began, allowing them to join the crowd and watch the rest of the ceremony.
Teams representing 74 Commonwealth nations and territories walked around a living garden at the centre of the arena, accompanied by a soundtrack created by Skye electro-folk group Valtos and musicians from across the Commonwealth.
Messages of encouragement from Glasgow children appeared around the venue as the athletes arrived. The smallest delegations were greeted as enthusiastically as the largest, while traditional performances by teams including New Zealand, Fiji and Samoa added to the colour and noise.
The biggest reception was reserved for Team Scotland. The host team, wearing tartan kilts, was led into the arena by veteran bowls champion Alex “Tattie” Marshall and judo star Sarah Adlington.
Sam Heughan delivered one of the evening’s most distinctly Scottish performances. The Outlander actor appeared in a filmed sequence searching for the Loch Ness Monster before appearing in person and helping to lure a giant mechanical Nessie into the arena.
The creature emerged as pipers and drummers struck up Flower of Scotland.
The show then followed a day in the life of Glasgow. A musical meeting unfolded beneath the clock at Central Station before performers traced the city’s history through its textile industry, shipyards and modern engineering.
Dancers appeared to weave a giant piece of fabric carrying the People Make Glasgow message in Gaelic. The production also celebrated the communities, workers and characters who have shaped the city.
Louisa Mahon, Glasgow 2026’s chief marketing and ceremonies officer, described the show as “a love letter to Glasgow”, stretching from its industrial heritage to the creative and passionate city it has become.
Nathan Evans and Saint PHNX performed Home during the Glasgow Central sequence, while Nina Nesbitt joined the Glasgow Madrigirls for a reworked version of The Proclaimers’ I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles).
Callum Beattie led the audience into Yes Sir, I Can Boogie as the production shifted towards a celebration of Glasgow nightlife. The stage filled with dancers, glittering stars and sparkling unicorns as the Central Station clock was transformed into a kaleidoscope.
Tom Walker performed Leave a Light On, before headliner KT Tunstall brought the ceremony towards its conclusion with songs including No Scotland, No Party and Suddenly I See.
Nathan Evans and Saint PHNX returned for the finale, which also featured the emergence of a giant Tunnock’s Teacake above the stage. The artists performed alongside hundreds of volunteer cast members recruited from Glasgow, Scotland and beyond.
The King and Queen were joined at the ceremony by the Duke of Edinburgh.
Other prominent guests included Prime Minister Andy Burnham, Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney, Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Botchwey and Commonwealth Sport president Dr Donald Rukare.
Rukare addressed the arena wearing a Wallace tartan kilt reworked in the colours of his native Uganda. He thanked Glasgow for stepping forward to host the event and said Commonwealth sport was about connection as well as competition.
The King received the final baton and read the message placed inside it at the launch of the relay. He described the Commonwealth as a “unique and extraordinary family of nations” and praised the dedication of the athletes.
He also used his speech to highlight plastic pollution in oceans and waterways before formally declaring the 23rd Commonwealth Games open.
The first full day of competition brings 14 gold-medal events. Nine will be decided in swimming and Para swimming, four in Para powerlifting and one in artistic gymnastics.
Scottish medal hopes Duncan Scott, Stephen Clegg and Faye Rogers are among those competing in the pool. Olympic champion Adam Ramsay-Peaty also begins his 100m breaststroke campaign.
Boxing, 3x3 basketball and 3x3 wheelchair basketball get under way, while bowls and Para bowls continue following their opening matches.