Barry Buddon misses out on shot in Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games spotlight

Angus will not see the Commonwealth Games come back to the area when Glasgow hosts the 3,000 athlete event in 2026.

Barry Buddon, near Carnoustie staged shooting competitions during Glasgow 2014. It  delivered a major economic boost for the district.

There were hopes the sport might make a comeback after being dropped for Birmingham 2022.

But on Tuesday organisers revealed there will be no venues outside Glasgow for the games’ return to Scotland.

It was a disappointment, but not a surprise for Angus-based 2014 medallist Drew Christie.

The Auchterhouse clay pigeon shooter took skeet silver at Barry Buddon.

He feared shooting’s return to Angus was a long shot when Glasgow stepped in to save the games.

“Barry Buddon was great,” said Drew. “Events like the Commonwealth Games always bring new interest in the sport.”

“But they took down the stuff they built there for the shooting events.”

10 sports confirmed for Glasgow 2026

Glasgow city stepped in after the Australian state of Victoria withdrew last year.

Diving, hockey and badminton are among the other sports which will not feature.

The trimmed-down event will run from July 23 to August 2, the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) announced on Tuesday.

They will feature a 10-sport programme across four venues within an eight-mile corridor.

More than 500,000 tickets will be made available for spectators.

Athletics and swimming are included as compulsory sports for 2026.

Track cycling, gymnastics, netball, weightlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and 3×3 basketball

And there will be integrated para events in six sports – athletics, swimming, track cycling, weightlifting, bowls and basketball.

Among the sports missing out compared to the 2022 Games in Birmingham are triathlon, diving, hockey, T20 cricket, squash, badminton and rugby sevens.

Commonwealth Games Scotland chairman Ian Reid said it was not easy to decide which sports to include.

He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “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.”

However, he said he thinks the sport programme will start to vary and may increase in size depending on venues in future cities, so there is a chance that more sports may again be included.

Around 3,000 athletes are expected to compete from up to 74 Commonwealth nations.

The four confirmed host venues are Scotstoun Stadium, Tollcross International Swimming Centre, Emirates Arena – including the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome – and the Scottish Event Campus.

Games chiefs hope it will bring £100 million of inward investment to Glasgow.