THERE’S a good chance that a decision will finally be made this week as to whether or not the 2026 Commonwealth Games will go ahead in Glasgow, with a meeting taking place yesterday between the Scottish Government and the original hosts, Commonwealth Games Australia.

If the Games do come to Scotland, they will be a significantly stripped-back version, with a reduced number of events and extremely limited funding and resource allocated to the running of it.

Cabinet Secretary Neil Gray MSP has raised concerns about the “reputational risk and financial risk” of Glasgow taking on the hosting duties, but as a Glasgow resident myself, I have my own concerns.

READ MORE: John Swinney to face first committee grilling as First Minister

The reality is that local authorities across Scotland are vastly under-resourced just to run the day-to-day public services we all rely on, let alone to cope with the huge burden of running major international events, and Glasgow is no exception to this.

I cast my mind back just a couple of years ago to COP26 – a hugely important event, no doubt, but one which undeniably made this city a far more challenging place to live for its duration.

Refuse workers and street cleaners were left with no choice but to take strike action during the event to receive a fair pay deal, while conference attendees were given free integrated public transport tickets that ordinary Glaswegians had been told for years were impossible.

Those attending the conference experienced a very different Glasgow to that of those of us who call this city home, and after the conference was over, you wouldn’t have known it had ever even happened here.

Sticking plasters were placed on the cracks in our city’s infrastructure to hide them from visiting world leaders, instead of addressing the major challenges facing Scotland’s biggest urban centre.

The 2014 Games saw significant investment in the city, including in new infrastructure and affordable homes, and a survey carried out to explore the legacy of the Games found that a majority believed they had had a lasting impact on the city, but let’s be quite clear – if Glasgow hosts in 2026, this will not be a repeat of the success of 2014.

READ MORE: Scottish income tax policy has 'little to no impact' on most businesses

The 2026 Games would be operating on a fraction of the budget, making use of existing facilities and without any new infrastructure to handle the event or leave any lasting legacy for it.

This doesn’t mean I’m entirely opposed to the idea of Glasgow hosting the games, but I am extremely sceptical. If we can ensure that hosting the Games will boost the local economy and raise significant funds to both offset the cost and be reinjected into creating long-term positive change, then I’m willing to keep an open mind, but I’m struggling to see how that’s likely.

It’s not good enough if money spent during the event just ends up lining the pockets of short-term let landlords and major national and international chains – we need to ensure it has a local impact. One route to make this happen is through the Scottish Greens’s Tourist Tax, which could raise tens of millions for local services.

The tax is made possible by the Visitor Levy (Scotland) Act, which was one of the many wins secured by Greens pre-Bute House Agreement as a result of budget negotiations.

The bill was delayed due to Covid but was finally passed this summer, enabling local authorities to raise funds by charging a percentage of the cost of overnight stays. Following this, the city council unanimously backed becoming the first city in Scotland to take this tax forward, as a result of a motion proposed by Green councillor Blair Anderson.

The tax will bring Glasgow in line with other major European cities, who reasonably expect those visiting a city to contribute a small amount to its maintenance. The levy is a small enough charge to have minimal impact on the cost of a stay, but with enough tourists, could generate between £10-20 million a year for the council.

Back in May, the GMB trade union said that the Commonwealth Games should only go ahead if the visitor levy can be put in place beforehand, with the resulting funds raised being reinvested in maintaining the city’s infrastructure.

This could potentially mitigate the cost of the Games, and even result in some lasting improvement to the city, though there’s a real risk that the tax won’t be able to be implemented in time. Even if the tax can, I still have my concerns.

READ MORE: Scottish Greens accuse oil and gas sector of 'spin' after emissions claims

Will the streets be swept for the Games, only to pile up with rubbish once the athletes go home? Will we find a way to make our public transport system free and integrated for global guests, but keep it expensive and inaccessible for commuters?

The answers to these questions will be important for any Glaswegian who lived through COP26 in 2021, who will have seen how our city gets given a fresh coat of paint for global events, only for it to be washed away in the rain once our visitors have left. And should we even be celebrating a Commonwealth Games which symbolises the legacy of British colonialism?

This is an event which was historically boycotted due to links to apartheid-era South Africa, and after the original 2026 hosts in Australia pulled out, some groups celebrated, with Australian non-profit Democracy in Colour noting: “The long history of empire, slavery and exploitation is celebrated every four years under the guise of ‘global peace’. As much as they try to make us forget its dark roots, we won’t.”

Is this really a legacy we want to maintain here in Glasgow? If Glasgow doesn’t host in 2026, the Games won’t be able to take place and it could spell the end of the Commonwealth Games in totality – but would that really be such a bad thing?

Either way, if the Games do go ahead in Glasgow, it’s critical that they must be a tool used for the permanent betterment of our city. A global reputation is all very well and good, but a comfortable city for all its residents is far more important.