In Pictures: Duke of Edinburgh in Glasgow for 2026 Commonwealth Games medal design reveal

215 gold medals will be awarded across 10 sports and six Para sports, when the Games return to Glasgow from 23 July to 2 August, in the biggest sporting competition in the UK this summer.

47 gold medals will be awarded in Para sports alone, making it the largest Para sport programme in Games’ history. Designed in secret by award-winning artist, designer and maker, and GSA Artist in Residence Militsa Milenkova, the Glasgow 2026 medal takes the form of a Reuleaux triangle, a distinctive geometric shape.

Glasgow 2026 says: “Its design draws deep inspiration from city’s coat of arms and rich landscape; the Finnieston Crane, the industrial heritage and cultural traditions that define Glasgow's identity are all woven into its structural detailing.”

Militsa was selected to design the medals following a collaboration between Glasgow 2026 and The Glasgow School of Art, with the School’s Silversmithing and Jewellery artists in residence being invited to submit concepts for the prize medal design to a panel made up of representatives from Commonwealth Sport, Glasgow 2026, The Glasgow School of Art, the medal fabricator and an independent jewellery and silversmithing expert.

Talking about the process and her design Militsa, who is originally from Bulgaria, said: "I really wanted to be involved in designing the medals as to me this place is my chosen home. I wanted to try and portray this into something that will become a symbol for the Games and all the people who take part in it. I thought it would be a really nice way to put my connection with the city into the design.

“I designed the medal to be a standout edition of the Commonwealth Games medals. I wanted it to be something that the athletes would resonate with. When I was thinking about the design, I wanted to try and fit Glasgow into one shape and to do that I was naturally drawn to the symbol of the city – the coat of arms. That’s where I took the distinctive shape from.

“I then started to play around with my ideas, using the Finnieston Crane and the shapes from it and how that also reminds me of the tartan. I wanted to include that as well as it’s a symbol of national identity for Scotland. The triangular shapes that I have on the surface of the medal come from the top of the crane and the texture represents the tartan.

“There are three surface levels representing the podiums that athletes step on to – which is possibly the biggest moment of their lives. And I wanted to make inclusion tangible; I’m so proud that the design is tactile and accessible with details expressed in braille on the prize medal for the very first time.”