The Comm Games are upon us, and Rebel Wilson's defamation win
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When and who hosts today’s Squiz episode?
This is a Squiz Podcast. We're your shortcut to being informed.
Good morning. I'm Andrew Williams.
And I'm Anna Paikett.
It's Thursday, the 23rd of July. In your Squiz today, the Commonwealth Games are on the way. The US and Saudi Arabia have made a nuclear deal. We've got a defamation win for Rebel Wilson and the importance of a good hug. This is your Squiz today. Anna, we talked earlier in the week about the World Cup-shaped hole in our lives. Good news for us. As of tomorrow morning, the 2026 Commonwealth Games are about to get underway in Scotland, and we've got a team of more than 250 athletes preparing to compete in the city of Glasgow.
Thank goodness, because I was really missing getting up super early.
I know, what a shame.
Let's take it back a step, Andrew. If you're thinking, hmm, weren't the Commonwealth Games supposed to be happening in Australia? You're right. This is the event that was going to be hosted in the state of Victoria. But back in 2023, the Premier at the time, Dan Andrews, pulled out of the contract saying, because it was so expensive. So the budget to host the event had blown out by $4 billion, and Andrews said he just wasn't prepared to take money away from things like hospitals and schools for a sports event lasting 12 days. But it wasn't just a case of walking away. Victoria still had to pay a fairly hefty but much smaller figure of $380 million in compensation to Commonwealth Games organisers.
And that's where Glasgow comes in. So that money has ended up footing most of the bill for this Scottish city to host. But it means that these games are going to look a bit different. There's a lot less money going into them. It's going to be a bit pared back, a bit streamlined.
Why are the 2026 Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow and how did Victoria’s withdrawal affect hosting?
So what that means is that athletes will compete in 10 sports. It's usually more like 20 odd. And there'll be no athletes village either. The teams will stay in hotels, which doesn't sound so bad.
Now let's get into some of the names to watch. At the outset, let me say Australia dominated at the last Commonwealth Games. They took place in Birmingham, also in the UK back in 2022. The likes of Athletics Royalty, Bruce McIverney thinks we've got a strong chance of doing that again. So let's cross our fingers that he's right. In the pool, Paris gold medalist Cam McAvoy, who did so well at the last Olympics, he's going for his first individual Commonwealth gold in the 50 metre freestyle. Kate was talking about him in the office yesterday, so he's definitely one to keep your eyes on. She was very excited about him. Molly O'Callaghan, who beat Ariane Titmuss to the 200 metre freestyle gold in Paris, is also going to be in action.
And if we head over to the track, there's a heap of buzz around our runners, including Lockie Kennedy, of course, who's run 100 meters in sub 10 seconds before. In the women's 100 meters, Tori Lewis has just broken her own record. Keep an eye on her. We've got Jess Hull. aiming to be the first woman to win the Commonwealth Mile. And then there's netball, where the Diamonds are, of course, heavy favourites, one of the best teams in the world. So the opening ceremony is at 5am Eastern Standard Time tomorrow. The games will run until the 2nd of August, and you can watch it all for free on Channel 7 or 7+. Now, we're still watching and waiting on this story to be officially announced as we record this, Anna, but it looks like the US has made a deal that would allow American companies to operate and run nuclear power plants in Saudi Arabia.
Yeah, this story has been leading many of the international news websites this morning. It would be for civilian use only. Saudi Arabia has been getting ready to move away from relying on oil for its economy, and it has plans to build large-scale nuclear reactors, which some analysts have been saying has been years in the making. So this deal with the US is the next step, and it's worth billions to companies like Westinghouse, which designs them. But some nuclear experts are concerned that President Trump could allow the Saudis to enrich their own supplies of uranium, which would give them the option to use those supplies to potentially
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
When and who hosts today’s Squiz episode?
0:00–1:41
2
Why are the 2026 Commonwealth Games being held in Glasgow and how did Victoria’s withdrawal affect hosting?
1:41–7:16
3
How will the scaled‑back Glasgow Games differ from previous Commonwealth Games?
7:16–8:19
4
Which Australian athletes should we watch at the Commonwealth Games?
8:19–14:51
5
What are the details and concerns about the US–Saudi civilian nuclear deal?
14:51–15:03