Official tartan revealed for Glasgow Commonwealth Games

The official tartan for next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow has been revealed.

It features blue, pink and purple colours against a steel grey base, inspired by the Scottish city's shipbuilding heritage.

The fabric will be used on the clothing of the Games mascot - whose identity will be revealed later this month.

The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games will take place next summer from 23 July to 2 August 2026.

What's been announced?

The tartan was created by Scottish fashion designer Siobhan Mackenzie.

She will also design a bespoke tartan for Team Scotland athletes and officials.

Ms Mackenzie said she was flattered to have been asked to come up with the fabric design.

"I feel honoured to be designing a tartan for such a momentous occasion in my home country.

"I love weaving stories into tartan design... I looked at Glasgow's rich history and felt inspired by the shipbuilding stories.

"This led to a steel grey base with the Glasgow 2026 colours woven through in my signature style," she added.

The tartan will be made in Scotland using local textiles and manufacturers.

What is tartan?

Tartan is a special type of checked woollen fabric which has great cultural and historic importance to the people of Scotland.

It is made up of horizontal and vertical stripes in different colours, on a coloured background. The interwoven stripes are known as a sett.

Tartan can be used to make kilts, or scarves, and they come in many different colours and designs, to represent different clans, or families.

Originally, clans people used local plants, mosses and berries to dye the wool.

The first mention of tartan was in 1538, but now there are thought to be around 7,000 unique tartans in the world - even Hello Kitty has its own tartan!

When are the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games?

In September 2024, it was announced that Glasgow, which last hosted the international sporting event in 2014, would host next year's Commonwealth Games.

The Scottish city stepped in after the original host, the state of Victoria in Australia, backed out for financial reasons.

The 23rd edition of the Commonwealth Games will take place in Scotland from 23 July to 2 August 2026.

Officials have said the Games will be slightly smaller this time, with fewer athletes and events, due to the shorter amount of time to plan it.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games will see 10 sports take place across four venues in Glasgow.

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

The 10 sporting events will include Athletics and Para Athletics (Track & Field), Swimming and Para Swimming, Artistic Gymnastics, Track Cycling and Para Track Cycling, Netball, Weightlifting and Para Powerlifting, Boxing, Judo, Bowls and Para Bowls, and 3x3 Basketball and 3x3 Wheelchair Basketball.

Around 3,000 athletes from up to 74 Commonwealth nations and territories are expected to compete next year.