Glasgow’s Commonwealth Games bid in jeopardy as ministers baulk at risk

That would include a government insuring against any potential additional costs outwith the agreed budget.

There are also concerns about security costs, visas for visiting athletes and delegations and discussions over cultural events happening alongside the sporting events.

Ministers are also anxious that a shoddy games could damage the reputation of Scotland’s largest city for hosting major sporting events.

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Proposals from Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) would see the revamped event host a core programme of 10 to 13 sports in Glasgow using “existing venues and accommodation options” in the city.

They believe it could cost £150m, with £100m coming from the settlement made to the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) after Victoria in Australia pulled out of hosting. 

The other £50m would come from commercial income, including ticketing, sponsorship and broadcasting.

The proposals are significantly more modest than previous games.

The 2022 event in Birmingham was backed by £778 million of public funding, though that also paid for a refurbished athletics stadium as well as a new aquatics centre.

Around £41.9 million related to security costs.

Speaking to journalists, Scottish Secretary Ian Murray said the UK Government was “enthusiastic” about the games coming to Scotland.

“We’ve been working very closely with the Cabinet Secretary on this. I think the UK and Scottish governments have both been clear, there’s no public money to invest or underwrite the Commonwealth Games, but you know, we’re we’re leaving no stone unturned in what we can do to help.

“There’s obviously a role for the UK Government in terms of visas, wider security issues, around terrorism, those kinds of issues which [the Department for Culture, Media and Sport] I know are working through.

“So we want there to be a positive outcome here, and we’re working with Scottish Government to make sure we can get one.”

He added: “The games themselves, I think, will be fully covered by the Commonwealth Games [Federation] and the Glasgow organising committee, I think they’ve got a big contingency in there too.

“So the games themselves are not the issue. I think it’s the issues around the games that are the discussion points at the moment.”

In Holyrood on Tuesday, Neil Gray, the Cabinet Secretary for Health told MSPs the Scottish Government had a “duty to balance potential benefits with the associated risks”.

He said: “There are risks inherent here that we need to bottom out, that we are working with both the UK Government, the Commonwealth Games Scotland and the Federation, to understand.

“It is a new concept. It is untested. The figures that we are being quoted are ambitious, and of course, we continue to be ambitious.

“But when there is an ambitious program and an ambitious target within the financial envelope that inherently draws risk, and we have already set out the situation that we have with the public purse.”

The minister said having “fewer sports over fewer sites” also meant there was “reputational risk”.

He added: “Glasgow and Scotland has an international reputation for major events hosting, doing so incredibly successfully. I point to the world cycling championships, the world indoor athletics, most recent examples of that, and so we need to make sure that this concept, as well as the financial considerations around it, are right for Scotland at this time.”

In their presentation – obtained by The Herald through Freedom of Information – Team Scotland says the games would involve “minimal public sector investment.”

They plan to use a Local Organising Committee, which will be a “not-for-profit, non government entity” to coordinate the delivery of the games. This committee will “focus on sport event delivery” and “outsource ceremonies and live sites with a fixed contribution from the LOC.”