GLASGOW, Scotland (AP) — Scotland conceived rugby sevens in the 1880s yet it will not feature in the scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow.
Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving.
The Games will have a 10-sport program in four venues. Athletics and swimming are compulsory while there will also be track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3x3 basketball.
There will also be integrated para events in six of those sports: Athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.
The Games will take place from July 23-Aug. 2 after Glasgow stepped in when the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year because of rising costs.
It was not easy to decide which sports to include, Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid told the BBC on Tuesday.
“I think everybody recognises that these events need to be more affordable, lighter and we would have loved to have all of our sports and all of our athletes competing but unfortunately it's just not deliverable or affordable for this time frame," Reid said.
Athletes and support staff will be housed in hotels. Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories representing a combined total of 2.5 billion people, a third of the world’s entire population.
More than 500,000 tickets made available for spectators.
The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive Katie Sadleir said: “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow, an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.”
Glasgow hosted the event in 2014 at a cost of more than 540 million pounds.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Scotland's Andrew McConnell shoots and scores goal against South Africa during their men's pool A hockey match at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, July 31, 2022. A scaled-back 2026 Commonwealth Games hosted by Glasgow will not feature rugby sevens, which was conceived in Scotland in the 1880s. Other sports that have also been dropped include field hockey, triathlon, badminton, Twenty20 cricket, squash, and diving. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant, File)
TOKYO (AP) — Global shares mostly declined in cautious trading Tuesday ahead of earnings reports around the globe, as Wall Street’s long, record-breaking rally lost steam.
France's CAC 40 lost 0.3% to 7,516.20, while the German DAX rose 0.4% to 19,526.85. Britain's FTSE 100 fell 0.5% to 8,281.14. The futures for the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average were down 0.3%.
In Asian trading, Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 dropped 1.4% to finish at 38,411.96. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 fell 1.7% to 8,205.70, while South Korea's Kospi slipped 1.3% to 2,570.70.
Hong Kong's Hang Seng gained 0.1% to 20,498.95 and the Shanghai Composite rose 0.5% to 3,285.87 following a cut to interest rates that took effect on Monday.
“The next two weeks are set to be a wild ride. Volatility has surged across stocks, bonds, and currencies as investors brace for a perfect storm of risks: a hotly contested U.S. election, critical interest-rate decisions in both the U.S. and Europe, the looming threat of a wider Middle East conflict, and the ever-present pressure of quarterly earnings,” Stephen Innes, managing partner at SPI Asset Management said in a commentary.
On Monday, the S&P 500 slipped 0.2% and the Dow dropped 0.8%. The Nasdaq composite rose 0.3%.
Wall Street’s rally to records this year has been based on hopes the U.S. economy can escape from the worst inflation in generations without a painful recession that many investors had worried could be inevitable.
With the Federal Reserve now cutting interest rates to keep the economy humming, optimists hope stocks can rise even further. But critics are warning stock prices look too expensive given they’ve climbed much faster than corporate profits.
That puts pressure on companies to deliver growth in profits to justify their stock prices, and more than 100 companies in the S&P 500 are scheduled to give details this week about their performances during the summer. That includes such heavyweights as AT&T, Coca-Cola, IBM, General Motors and Tesla.
The Bank of Canada will also announce its latest decision on interest rates Wednesday, where it could cut by half a percentage point.
In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude lost 20 cents to $69.84 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, fell 18 cents to $74.11 a barrel.
In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 150.99 Japanese yen from 150.69 yen. The euro rose to $1.0829 from $1.0819.
FILE - People pass the New York Stock Exchange, at rear, in New York's Financial District on Oct. 16, 2024. (AP Photo/Peter Morgan, File)
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A police officer rides a bicycle in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
A person walks in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2024, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
