After Victoria withdrew successful 2023, Glasgow answered the SOS telephone - and organisers accidental the past 11 days successful the Scottish metropolis person "exceeded each expectations".
Yes, determination person been grumbles - including from those who person seen parking spaces extracurricular their houses taken - and taxi drivers and store owners the Games person passed by.
On the ground, though, this felt similar a meaningful event.
Ticket income of 434,000 were good down from 1.5 cardinal for Birmingham 2022, but they were ever going to beryllium fixed the smaller venues for this scaled-back edition. It has been uncommon to participate a venue and not find a joyful, engaged crowd.
There was plentifulness of excitement for fans, excessively - Josh Kerr's aureate homecoming astatine Scotstoun, Angharad Evans making the swimming excavation floors shake, and Neil Fachie's affectional victory connected his instrumentality to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
They besides celebrated Jamaica's seismic netball triumph implicit Australia. Live athletics seldom fails to deliver.
But a nagging question has remained throughout: is anyone other watching?
Big names specified arsenic Kerr and Adam Ramsay-Peaty - with his emotional absorption to taking bronze successful the pool - broke retired of this Glaswegian bubble, but what else?
Organisers said their societal media views passed those of Birmingham wrong the opening fewer days and highlighted record-breaking tv figures successful Australia and New Zealand, wherever the Games were free-to-air.
Still, without that aforesaid sum successful the UK, these Games person - astatine times - drifted by.
Glasgow 2026 was besides wounded by the lack oregon precocious withdrawal of big-name competitors, peculiarly successful athletics, which missed Keely Hodgkinson, Katarina Johnson-Thompson and Dina Asher-Smith.
The Games' differing relevance betwixt sports was again wide - for netball, this remains the pinnacle and is treated arsenic such; for others, it is simply a stepping stone. Many narratives focused connected the "next generation".
Eighteen-year-old Jersey swimmer Filip Nowacki was possibly the astir breathtaking sanction to emerge, but gymnasts Ruby Evans (Wales) and Reuben Ward (Scotland) and England way cyclist Henry Hobbs, who won 2 golds and a bronze, were others.
Swimmer Faye Rogers impressively brought her occurrence astatine the Paralympics backmost to Glasgow with golden successful the excavation - and past competed successful the non-para lawsuit arsenic well.
Cyclist Emma Finucane turned her 3 Olympic medals successful Paris into four Commonwealth golds successful Glasgow.
All volition person their eyes connected Los Angeles successful 2028.
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