Olympic and Commonwealth medallist Duncan Scott says swimming events need to be cheaper to encourage more fans.

After that, the 25-year-old will turn his attention to the World Championships and Commonwealth Games.

“As sad as it is, the reality of swimming in Britain is we don’t really have crowds,” Scott said.

“I think the prices of going to watch swimming events is too expensive. Especially if you look at how many people are attending.

“It’s a little bit upsetting. The no-crowds policy in Tokyo I’d say helped the British swimmers out slightly, but hopefully there will be a good turnout in Glasgow.

“All the international events I’ve raced at here from Commonwealth Games in 2014 to Europeans in 2018 and others, the crowd’s always been phenomenal, so hopefully we get a bit this weekend.

“It obviously costs to hire the pool and all that, but there is definitely an argument behind making it free up to a certain age, or cutting the price by quite a lot. I just feel there needs to be some way of encouraging spectators. Especially at national and international events.”

Scott, who became the first British athlete to win four medals at a single Olympics in Tokyo last summer, is using the event in Glasgow to prepare for next month’s World Championships in Budapest, where he says his expectations are “quite high”.

“It’ll be my last chance to have a hit out at different things – try out different strategies and really put myself under pressure,” Scott said. “That’s where I feel I learn my skills the best.

“From there, it’s about two weeks of taper before we fly out and then start racing in Budapest. So it’s really not long after this competition.”