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Look, I love an Aussie gold rush as much as the next person.

But regardless of how much the green and gold dominates the final medal tally in Glasgow, surely the end of the Empire-come-Commonwealth Games is nigh, at least in its current form?

Struggling for relevance in an increasingly congested elite sporting calendar and fraught with financial challenges (hi Dan Andrews) maybe it’s time to just give the whole thing away and invest the money elsewhere.

Be honest, would you miss it?

Now to be absolutely fair here, clearly some nations and sports do care about the Commonwealth Games and would miss it, albeit in a weird Stockholm syndrome kind of way.

It’s also a well-worn path and stepping stone for younger athletes coming through the ranks in many sports which, on the surface at least, has merit.

Yet while it might provide a fantastic opportunity for an emerging weightlifter, runner or swimmer, particularly from a smaller and less athletically accomplished nation, should the rest of the Commonwealth really be footing a multi-million-dollar bill for an event which is largely a development program and a ‘test run’ for the Olympic Games?

If you really want to help young athletes, why not pour some of the resources into further developing the Commonwealth Youth Games concept with expanded athletic scholarships to underpin it?

After all, the top Kenyan distance runners and Caribbean sprinters are already winning Olympic, World and Diamond League medals — so they certainly don’t need the Games. Aussie and British swimmers are hardly short for competition at Olympic, World and, in the case of Australia, Pan-Pacific level so again, are these Games really that necessary for them? And don’t get me started on cycling — without the powerhouse European nations trackside in Glasgow these are hollow medals at best. Nice to have on the mantelpiece for those who win them sure, but relatively meaningless in a wider international context.

‘Ask what the athletes think’ is a common response on social media to this somewhat parochial and sensitive issue, but seriously? Of course athletes want it, they want as many opportunities to compete as possible and rightly so. But critically they’re not the ones paying for it.

I’m also going to say the ‘silent’ thing out loud here, because we also shouldn’t hide from history: do we really still need a flag-waving celebration of British colonialism every four years? ‘Thank you, dear conquerors, thank you.’

Whether you love the Union Jack and what it stands for, or loathe it, the world has changed and no amount of PR can put a positive spin on many of the events of the past 400 years or so.

Let’s not forget the event’s original name coined in 1930, the British Empire Games, was tweaked several times before being switched to the far more palatable ‘Commonwealth Games’ moniker in a master rebranding exercise back in 1978. No prizes for guessing why that was done.

Now you may vehemently disagree with all this and that’s absolutely fine.

But for me, the time is long overdue to cut the cord. Save the hassle. Save the money.

Let the Commonwealth Games in its current form go the way of the dodo. Channel 7 will find something else to televise, I’m sure.

Your Day 7️⃣ Medal Table at #Glasgow2026 🥇🥈🥉@CommGamesAUS break 50 Golds, while Dominica and The Bahamas add their first of the Games! pic.twitter.com/WyG97qozuN
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— Glasgow 2026 (@Glasgow_2026) July 30, 2026

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