Simple Minds and Delta Goodrem headlined the closing ceremony of the 2026 Commonwealth Games on Sunday, 2 August, bringing the 11-day multi-sport event to an official end at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland.

Goodrem opened the ceremony, welcoming athletes into the arena with a medley of her hits before performing 'Born To Try', the 2003 single from her debut album Innocent Eyes. She also performed 'Eclipse' — the song she took to the 2026 Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished fourth — and 'Warrior'. The Australian singer then teamed up with Scottish pop artist Cammy Barnes for a rendition of John Farnham's 'You're the Voice', a cross-continental pairing that sat comfortably with the Games' ethos.

This was Goodrem's third Commonwealth Games performance, following appearances at Melbourne 2006 and Gold Coast 2018 Billboard. She also has a new album on the way: Pure, set for release on 6 November through a new deal with Universal Music via Better Now Records/Electrola — her first release under that arrangement.

Simple Minds, the Glasgow-formed band now in their fifth decade, closed the show with two of their most recognised songs: 'Alive and Kicking' and 'Don't You (Forget About Me)' BBC Sport. The band will mark that fifth decade with the V Tour, a run of headlining arena shows across Australia and New Zealand beginning February 2027.

The ceremony's lineup also drew on Scottish talent. Sandi Thom, Shereen Cutkelvin, Elephant Sessions, Bemz and Mop Man all performed, grounding the event in its host city's music scene Billboard; Evening Standard. Indian javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra, the Olympic gold medallist, also featured in the ceremony Olympics.com.

Away from the stage, the medals table told a dominant Australian story. Australia finished top of the standings with 70 gold medals, well ahead of England's 29 and Canada's 19. Scotland took fifth place with 13 golds, ahead of New Zealand, Nigeria and Jamaica. A Scottish athlete named Woods was recognised as the outstanding athlete of the Games during the ceremony BBC Sport.

For a closing ceremony, the programming did what these events are built to do: hand the host city's artists a global stage while the athletes watch from the floor. Glasgow got Simple Minds at home; Australia got Goodrem on a night she already owned 70 reasons to celebrate.