Glasgow wins 2014 Commonwealth Games!
Glasgow has won one of international sport’s biggest prizes – the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The President of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Mike Fennell, made the announcement on November 9 during the CGF’s General Assembly, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, after a decisive vote in Glasgow’s favour.
A 48-strong team from Glasgow and Scotland were in Sri Lanka for the final round of lobbying and presentations, and the Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau and Leader of Glasgow City Council, Steven Purcell, was among those who heard the news first-hand. He said:
“We came here to win gold for Glasgow and that is what we have done. The 2014 Games will create a lasting legacy for the city both economically and socially.
“This has been a magnificent team effort, and that same team spirit will deliver an outstanding Games for athletes, for spectators and for Scotland.”
The XXth Commonwealth Games will take place in Glasgow from 23 July – 3 August 2014, and the next 100 days will be spent putting detailed plans in place to deliver the infrastructure developments outlined in Glasgow’s successful bid.
Over 70% of the venues in Glasgow are already in place, but new builds, including a National Indoor Sports Arena, a National Velodrome and an Athlete’s Village, will be at the heart of a scheme to breathe new life into the city’s East End and create a legacy for the future.
Glasgow’s Athlete’s Village will be twice the size of Melbourne’s 2006 Commonwealth Games Village, providing spacious accommodation and training facilities for 6,500 athletes and support staff. After the Games, these desirable new homes on the banks of the River Clyde, will be made available for sale or rent.
Besides regeneration benefits, the Games will also provide Glasgow with a huge opportunity to raise its profile internationally, prompting a surge in tourism in the years that follow 2014.
Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, comments, “This is fantastic news! 2014 will catapult Glasgow tourism to new heights.
“Over the last 20 years, Glasgow has very successfully used major events and accolades to position itself in the international marketplace, and we fully intend to use the 2014 Commonwealth Games to raise Glasgow’s profile still further.
“Glasgow has worked hard to create the modern, dynamic city that we see today and the Games will give us a chance to show it off to a potential audience of approximately one billion people world-wide.”
It is anticipated that the net economic benefit of the Games to Glasgow will be £26 million, while the benefit to Scotland will be £81 million. In the three years following the Games, there could be a net increase of 4% in tourism, which equates to a further £30 million in expenditure.
A further benefit of the Games will be showcasing Glasgow’s outstanding facilities for major events and conferences.
Joe Aitken, Head of Events at Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, added, “This fantastic win is a resounding vote of confidence in Glasgow’s event management skills. We believe that this, combined with the highly developed infrastructure that will be in place by 2014, will result in more major events and conferences coming to the city.”
Issued by and further information from:
Nancy McLardie, Head of Public Relations, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau
Tel: +44(0)141 566 0830 or mobile 07710 349394
Note to Editors: A History of Event Success
Glasgow has held a number of major events over the past 20 years, including:
- The 1988 Glasgow Garden Festival was opened by Prince Charles and Princess Diana, and attracted 4.3 million visitors over a five-month period. The site along the River Clyde where the Festival took place is now home to a thriving digital media campus, including BBC Scotland’s new £129 million headquarters.
- European City of Culture 1990. Recognised as a major imaging opportunity, 1990 had a dramatic impact on global perceptions of the city and sparked an influx of visitors. Tourism to Glasgow has more than doubled since 1989, from 1.2 million visitors annually to 2.8 million in 2005.
- Glasgow: UK City of Architecture and Design 1999. 1999 highlighted Glasgow’s magnificent built environment, and left a physical legacy in the shape of The Lighthouse, Scotland’s National Centre for Architecture and Design. Several blockbusting exhibitions were held during the year, including one dedicated to Glasgow’s “other great architect”, Alexander ‘Greek’ Thomson.
- UEFA Champion’s League Final host city, 2002. Approximately 25,000 Bayer Leverkusen/Real Madrid fans attended the Uefa Champion’s League Final at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on 15 May, 2002, with a further 300 million people watching the match on television around the world. Real Madrid’s Zinedine Zidane scored a spectacular goal to take his team to a 2 – 1 victory, while Glasgow’s economy is thought to have benefitted by £25 million.
- Special Olympics Glasgow 2005 Great Britain Games. More than 3,500 athletes with learning disabilities participated in this event which took place in Glasgow from 2 - 9 July, 2005. The athletes were accompanied by 1,500 coaches, 3,000 family members and 1,500 specially recruited volunteers. The Opening Ceremony at Glasgow’s Celtic Park attracted 25,000 spectators.
- UEFA Cup Final host city, 2007. 25,000 Spanish fans descended on Glasgow to watch FC Sevilla and RCD Espanyol contest European football’s second biggest prize at Glasgow’s Hampden Park on 16 May 2007. The match, which was won by Sevilla, generated £11.5 million for the local economy, while 75 per cent of fans who attended said they were very likely to visit Glasgow in the next three years.