10 Sep 2026
By Rebecca Ricketts, Campaign and Project Lead, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Business Engagement Specialist, Glasgow 2026 (2025 – Aug 2026)
If there’s one thing I’ve learned from delivering city campaigns over the years, it’s that the best ones shouldn’t end when the bunting comes down, the crowds head home and those of us involved finally catch up on some sleep!
For Glasgow 2026, All In Welcome gave our hospitality businesses a really simple way to get behind the Games. More than 75 cafés, bars, restaurants and hotels served coffees, cocktails and signature drinks topped with the All In mark, using reusable stencils made, rather brilliantly, from recovered ocean plastic thanks to collaborating with Ocean Kitchen Scotland. The idea was inspired by the Commonwealth Clean Oceans Plastics Campaign, connected to the King’s Baton Relay, bringing a little creativity and circular thinking to every cup and cocktail.
It was simple, highly visual and easy for businesses to get involved with. But while it might have looked like a fun Games-time activation, there was a bit more going on behind that stencil than first met the eye.
I’ve always believed businesses have a hugely important role to play in the successful delivery of major events. They bring creativity, reach, local knowledge and most importantly, lots of enthusiastic people who can help turn an event taking place on their doorstep into something that feels like it belongs to the city.
And that’s where legacy comes in.
There was, perhaps surprisingly for something involving coffees and cocktails, plenty of strategic thinking behind All In Welcome. I designed the campaign to support all four ambitions of Glasgow 2026’s Story of Change, the co-created legacy blueprint setting out how a reimagined, scaled-back Games could deliver lasting positive impact for Glasgow, Scotland and the wider Commonwealth. All In Welcome delivered against all four: a greener, more inclusive, welcoming and financially responsible Games. And that legacy continues, with the stencils now heading into Glasgow schools, where I hope they’ll inspire a whole new set of conversations around sustainability, creativity and circular design long after the Games are over.
The learning doesn’t stop in Glasgow either. Alongside Alex Johnston, Legacy Manager for Commonwealth Sport and Games colleague, I’m now sharing some of what worked and just as importantly, what we learned along the way, with the Tour de France team ahead of the 2027 Grand Départ and Tour de France Femmes avec Zwift. The hope is that those learnings can be built on again before the baton (sorry, couldn’t resist!) eventually passes towards EURO 2028.
For me, the exciting bit is where we take these learnings next. I’d love to play a part in building on them, helping host cities make sure major events aren’t simply brilliant moments in time, but leave a meaningful and lasting social, economic and environmental impact.
So, was All In Welcome just a one-off campaign? Hopefully the evaluation report suggests otherwise.
Have a read to discover what worked, what we learned and most importantly, what comes next. And if it sparks an idea for your own city, event or campaign, drop me a line, I’d love to hear it.
