Glasgow 2014: An investment in legacy

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games symbolised a game-changing signpost in a long-term event-hosting strategy for the city and country, as well as a momentous multi-sport event in its own right. Paul Bush OBE, Director of Events at VisitScotland, tells Invest In Sport how a sound strategy for the Games paved the way for a positive future.

Following the conclusion of the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the then-chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), Mike Hooper, hailed the event as the “standout Games in the history of the movement”.

Hooper’s claim was hard to disagree with at the time. Some 1.3 million tickets were sold for the event, which contributed £740m to Scotland’s gross value added (GVA) over a seven-year period from 2007 to 2014.

More than half of that figure (£390m) contributed to Glasgow’s GVA, while the Games supported an estimated average of 2,100 jobs per year nationally, according to a legacy report released by the Scottish government in April 2018.

Venue investments

Glasgow’s venue strategy proved key to the success of the Games, with several of the competition arenas having gone on to host major championships in the years to follow, avoiding the ‘white elephant’ tag that often befalls facilities built for events of this scale.

Shooting events were held in Carnoustie and diving events were staged in Edinburgh, but all other sports took place in three venue clusters within Glasgow’s city borders, with the exception of triathlon races that were held at Strathclyde Country Park on the outskirts of nearby Motherwell.

The Emirates Arena was the only major venue that was purpose-built for the Games, hosting badminton and track cycling events. The OVO Hydro, which opened in 2013 primarily as a music arena, staged netball and gymnastic events.

Both the Emirates Arena and OVO Hydro have since helped to cement Glasgow’s reputation as a major sporting city, with the former hosting Davis Cup tennis matches and the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships, and the latter counting UFC mixed martial arts bouts and the 2015 Artistic Gymnastic World Championships in its events portfolio.

The Glasgow 2014 organising committee delivered the Games in partnership with the Scottish government, Glasgow City Council and Commonwealth Games Scotland.

The Games were delivered within a budget of £543m, with the government and Glasgow City Council providing £425m towards the overall cost. The remaining £118m was generated through ticket sales, sponsorship revenue and other commercial sources.

Glasgow Life, a charity that delivers cultural, sporting and learning activities on behalf of Glasgow City Council, was a key partner in the delivery of the Games, managing the Host City Volunteers’ programme.

Funding programme

Another key cog in the Games machine was EventScotland, which was responsible for the delivery of the ‘Games for Scotland’ funding programme.

The programme provided support to local authorities in the four years leading up to the event and formed part of Legacy 2014, a Scottish government initiative to inspire Scottish citizens to adopt healthier lifestyles. EventScotland now sits within the VisitScotland Events Directorate.

“Up to £10,000 was available to support new events and enhance existing activities with organisers encouraged to develop events that best met their local objectives as well as those of the programme,” Paul Bush OBE, the long-serving director of events at VisitScotland, tells Invest In Sport.

“Over the five years of the programme, we invested £1.2m in 138 events. All 32 local authorities in Scotland took part in the programme, with 16 local authorities holding events in each year. More than 500,000 people also took part in the programme with participation increasing each year from over 35,500 in 2010 to more than 340,000 in 2014.

“As well as being opportunities for communities to enjoy free sports and dance taster sessions at local facilities, the events supported through the programme also provided opportunities for launching other Legacy 2014 and community initiatives, notably the ‘sportscotland Community Sport Hubs’.”

Scotland’s national events strategy, ‘Scotland the Perfect Stage’, places a strong emphasis on ensuring major events deliver positive economic and social benefits, says Bush, who highlighted the five key impact areas of the strategy: economic (tourism and business); brand, identity and reputation; media and profile; social and cultural; and sustainability.

“By measuring against these five key areas of impact identified it allows us as well as partners to assess the overall level of impact and success of the event. It also helps support future bids and infrastructure development,” Bush says.

“The time period for measuring the economic and social impacts will vary depending on the overall objectives. It will also depend on whether it is a one-off event or annual event, with the latter often having the ability to effect large-scale cultural change over a longer period.”

Halo effect

The government’s 2018 legacy report found that hosting the Commonwealth Games proved “invaluable” in preparing the city for hosting a new multi-sport event, the European Championships, in 2018.

By the end of 2017, a total of 57 events of UK or international standing had been secured at Games venues, while eight more events featuring Glasgow 2014 sports, but not at Games venues, were also awarded. According to the final Games legacy evaluation, the 65 events in total were worth £27.5m to the economy.

An Ernst and Young Attractiveness Survey published in 2016 also found that there was a “halo effect” from events such as the Commonwealth Games and the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles that may have resulted in “abnormally high” levels of investment in Scotland in 2015.

The legacy report also found that the Games drove the development of “high-quality sports facilities” across the country, with people “frequently” using Games venues. At the time the report was published, residents in the East End of Glasgow – where the Games Village was based – also felt more satisfied, safer and “more involved in the decisions that affect their area”.

Widely billed as the largest sporting and cultural event in the history of Scotland, Glasgow 2014 exceeded ticket-sale expectations as around 690,000 fans attended the event over its 11-day run. Arguably, though, the lasting impact the 2014 Games continue to have on the city some eight years on from the event is the greatest success story of all.




Photo credit: © Glasgow 2014 Pamela Mcadams, Dreamstime.com