How will the 2014 Commonwealth Games impact on Glasgow’s health, and how will we know?

This article identifies pathways through which impacts from the 2014 Commonwealth Games might arise. It also assesses the likelihood of positive impacts and considers how best to evaluate the games. The pathways identified are: economic growth; increased sports participation; increased pride and sense of identity; volunteering; improved environment; and legacy programmes. There is little or no evidence from previous major multi-sports events to suggest that any of these pathways are likely to generate meaningful positive outcomes although there is an absence of evidence for some. The available evidence could be improved if the 2014 Games were to be evaluated using: retrospective cohort analysis for discrete interventions; theory-based comparative cohort analyses, which includes an assessment of opportunity costs for effects that are intrinsic to hosting the event; and a realist evaluation of ‘catalytic impacts’.