Starting with Glasgow 2026, two Commonwealth Games sports are compulsory: athletics and swimming.
The change comes from the Commonwealth Games Federation’s updated sports programme framework. Glasgow’s emergency, streamlined edition will feature a reduced programme, but athletics and swimming remain the two required sports. Their integrated Para events are included alongside the able-bodied competitions.
This is a notable departure from recent Games, which usually included a larger group of compulsory or core sports. Glasgow 2026 is scheduled to feature ten sports overall, making it the smallest programme since 1994. Hosts normally have more flexibility to shape the programme around local facilities, costs and sporting priorities.
A common mix-up is to count Para athletics and Para swimming as four separate compulsory sports. They are separate competition disciplines, but the framework identifies two compulsory sports: athletics and swimming.