Orkney Island Games organisers welcome Glasgow announcement

With Glasgow announced for a scaled back Commonwealth Game for 2026, Island Games organiser for the 2025 Island Games which will be held in Orkney have welcomed the latest announcement.
In a statement issued this Games Director of the Orkney 2025 International Island Games, Kirsty Talbot, commented:
“It is incredibly exciting to see Glasgow hosting the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Next year Orkney will play host to the 40th International Island Games and we are looking forward to welcoming nearly 2000 athletes and officials from 24 islands across the world to Orkney to compete in 12 different sports. It will be the biggest event that Orkney has ever hosted.
“One of the largest multi-sport events taking place in Europe in 2025, the International Island Games brings a unique opportunity for Orkney and will see the islands showcase our exceptional facilities, vibrant atmosphere and welcoming community. With a unique structure for a Games, the event has a small staff of two and is run almost exclusively by volunteers. The Orkney 2025 organising committee has been working incredibly hard behind the scenes to bring together a memorable, once in a lifetime event, which will not only celebrate the best of everything that Orkney has to offer but also provide unprecedented opportunities to create a lasting sporting legacy for the islands, whether through participation or the development of coaching and other supporting roles. Orkney 2025 will be an historic occasion and a wonderful chance for local athletes to compete at a home multi-sport event with the eyes of the world watching. The improvements to sporting infrastructure that this investment will support will be of huge value to the local community for many years.
Kirsty Talbot worked as part of the team at Glasgow 2014 (which was a home Games for the Orkney Games Director. Ms Talbot sees many parallels between both Games. She continues, “With athletes travelling from all across the world to compete at an incredible standard, the Island Games brings the same triumphs, celebrations and challenges a Commonwealth Games does. The complexities of planning an international multi-sport event offers amazing volunteering opportunities for local communities to get involved and help ensure that we deliver the best Games possible. We are thrilled that the Orkney Island Games has seen an incredible 1,200 volunteers applying to be part of the Games. The Commonwealth Games is another excellent opportunity to encourage the population to get involved through volunteering and sport, to strengthen our country’s cultural identity and further support Scotland’s reputation as a country that delivers world-class sporting events.”

For all information on the Orkney 2025 Island Games, please visit: https://www.orkney2025.com