2014 was a momentous year for Scotland and major events were at the heart of the excitement. The great success of the “best ever” Commonwealth Games in 2014 was followed by an acclaimed Ryder Cup.
“We’ve been putting Scotland forward as the perfect stage for events for a number of years,” Paul Bush OBE, chief operating officer of EventScotland told HOST CITY magazine. “What came out of last year is that it was a step change for us.”
The successes of 2014 have provided a platform for future hosting successes, building on proven strengths that EventScotland refers to as the “four Cs”: capacity, capability, credibility and confidence.
“Our capacity, in terms of number of volunteers, transport, infrastructure and accommodation, is now recognised around the world,” says Bush. “As for capability, all the events were delivered as the best ever or recognised some of the best.
“Credibility is about reputation; the experience of people coming to our events was high. And the feedback we had from the local population was extremely positive – they didn’t see the events as an impediment; they saw them as something to be proud of.
“And that’s given us the confidence to look bigger and better in the future. The international federations now have great confidence in bringing their events back to Scotland this year.”
Glasgow is hosting the IPC Swimming World Championships and the World Gymnastics Championships in 2015.
Outside the cities, Scotland is hosting seven golf tournaments back to back this year. The Open Championships takes place in St. Andrews this year while the Women’s British Open takes place in Turnberry in Ayrshire.
The World Orienteering Championships, which has record number of entries already this year, takes place in Speyside, the countryside around Aberdeenshire.
And the UCI Mountain Bike World Cup is taking place in Fort William again in what has become an annual Scottish fixture.
“We’re really cognisant of the fact that we’ve got to spread the benefit as much as we can across the country,” says Bush.
“That’s not always possible because the facilities and the infrastructure are often the driver, but using our natural landscape is really important to us.
The European Eventing Championships, the final qualifying event for Rio 2016, is in the tiny village of Blair Atholl in Perthshire. “The infrastructure that will be needed to put up around that will be huge, and that will really showcase the landscape of that area.”
The 2014 Ryder Cup was hosted on a greenfield site at Gleneagles. Despite the influx of 50,000 people a day, there were no problems in getting people to and from the event – thanks to a transport infrastructure group set up by the Scottish government to look after major events. Initially set up for the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup, this group has since maintained its position within Transport Scotland to ensure the smooth operation of all major events.
Beyond sport
Major cultural events are also an invaluable part of Scotland’s hosting portfolio. Glasgow was the European City of Culture in 1990, hosted the MOBOs in 2009, 2011 and 2013, the MTV Awards in 2014 and is hosting the Turner Prize in 2015.
“Glasgow is recognised as one of the cultural gems of Europe; it has a huge history and heritage within contemporary arts,” says Bush, pointing out that three of the last five Turner Prize winners were educated at the Glasgow School of Art.
“The MTV Awards got to a totally different demographic in terms of young people. MTV communicates through social media –their ticket sales for Glasgow were activated through Facebook, they don’t rely on traditional routes at all.”
Scotland nurtures its own cultural events that are incredibly valuable to the economy. The Edinburgh Festivals bring in around £262m each year, while Hogmanay alone brings in over £30m each year.
“We’ve got some great gems in the cultural portfolio that we want to sustain and grow,” says Bush.
Business events are also an increasingly important feature of Scotland’s event strategy. “Meetings, corporate events, incentives, associations – these have now become part of our portfolio and we are looking to see how the synergies work between these different types of events,” says Bush.
Mass participation is another area where Scotland is keen to grow and diversify. Bush cites the London Prudential Ride and Melbourne’s Ride the Night, which attracted a quarter of a million people into the city centre between dusk and dawn, as examples.
“We are looking at pressing different buttons, accepting the fact that we are not going to get the Ryder Cup or the Commonwealth Games every year, or even every lifetime. “The big thing for us is to ensure that people who come to events become repeat visitors in the future.
“Last year, most people’s perceptions of Glasgow were changed and they realised what a great city it was to come to. A lot of cities have stigmas attached to them. But people thought this is a great city, it’s a really fun place to come to and the people are really welcoming.”
How to become a world class host
So, how can other cities and countries around the world follow this example build themselves into world-leading event destinations?
“The most important thing is you’ve got to have a very clear strategy and you’ve got to stick to that. It’s quite easy to buy events, as certain places in the world have successfully achieved. But you’ve got to work out your USPs, your strategy and your vision.
“You’ve got to invest in good people and you’ve got to give those people the time, the ability and the confidence. In Scotland we started this in 2001 – that’s 14 years ago. “But probably the most important thing in terms of long term success is your ability to deliver and the reputation that comes from that.”
International conventions for the event hosting industry are precious few, but make the most of these, says Bush. “They are really important because they provide that ideal opportunity to get everybody in one place in the world to rekindle those relationships.”
This interview was first published in the Winter 2014/15 Issue of HOST CITY magazine. Since then, Glasgow has been awarded the hosting rights to the new 2018 European Sports Championship.
Tag: GLASGOW
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The next stage for Scotland
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Glasgow generates £230m from major events in 10 years
As Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) celebrates its 10th birthday on Friday, the bureau revealed that major events secured, supported or managed by GCMB in collaboration with city partners over the past decade have injected nearly £230 million into Glasgow’s economy; attracting 4.6 million attendances.
During the past 10 years Glasgow has welcomed some of the biggest events and brands in the world to the city, from the Commonwealth Games, UEFA Cup Final and the World Irish Dancing Championships to Olympic football and the torch relay, BBC Radio 1’s Big Weekend and the MTV Europe Music Awards (EMA).
“The decision to bring MTV’s most prestigious international awards show, the EMA, to Glasgow in 2014 was the culmination of several years working with the city,” said Bob Bakish, President and CEO of MTV’s global parent company, Viacom International Media Networks.
“Throughout that time we found Glasgow’s dedicated team to be a fantastic partner to work with – forward-thinking, creative and flexible, with a good understanding of how they can best contribute to the successful staging of major events.”
The legacy of last year’s Commonwealth Games will bring a number of coveted major events to Glasgow in the coming years, extending the city’s world-class sporting and cultural events portfolio until 2020.
These include the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships; 2015 Turner Prize; 2015 British Athletics International; 2016 World Irish Dancing Championships; 2016 Glasgow International Festival of Visual Art; 2018 World Irish Dancing Championships; 2018 European Swimming Championships; 2020 World Men’s Curling Championships and UEFA Euro 2020.
“Glasgow’s continued success in delivering major gymnastics events is attributable to their unique ‘one Glasgow’ approach, which encourages partners, like British Gymnastics, to work in collaboration to deliver successful events, said Jane Allen, CEO of British Gymnastics.
“Glasgow’s willingness to strategically work with British Gymnastics over many years was instrumental in winning the bid to stage the prestigious 2015 World Gymnastics Championships – an Olympic qualification event – in the city later this year.”
Glasgow’s ability to attract the very best major events was further demonstrated recently with the announcement that the city will co-host the inaugural, multi-sport European Sports Championships with Berlin in 2018, following a decision by some of Europe’s top sports to bring together their prestigious European Championships for the first time, including cycling, swimming and athletics.
The event, which will attract a projected TV audience of around 850 million, will see nearly 3,000 athletes travel to Scotland in the summer of 2018 as part of a total delegation of around 8,200 including officials, media and others.
All these events are underpinned by a diverse range of year-round events held in Glasgow – from Celtic Connections, Glasgow Film Festival and Glasgow International Comedy Festival to the Merchant City Festival, Piping Live and the World Pipe Band Championships and more.
Glasgow’s investment of some £300 million in state-of-the-art infrastructure, including the SSE Hydro and the Emirates Arena, has extended the city’s world-class venue offering and capacity.
“In its first year the SSE Hydro delivered an economic impact of £131 million and celebrated being the second busiest arena in the world,” said John Langford, Director of Live Entertainment at The SSE Hydro. “GCMB plays a pivotal role in supporting this success, through the development of world class content and tirelessly spreading the Glasgow gospel!”
A new “Major Events Charter”, launched after the Commonwealth Games, has further strengthened the city’s reputation for winning and delivering major events. This refreshed charter guarantees the provision of exceptional support for major events coming to the city – with Glasgow the only destination in Europe to make this promise to global event organisers.
HOST CITY 2015, the largest meeting of cities and cross-sector events in the EU, is taking place in Glasgow on 9th and 10th November.
“Glasgow is a city with a sense of self belief that oozes confidence. We’ve been through a rite of passage, overcoming industrial decline and reinventing our economy to become a leading example of city regeneration,” said Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau.
“A real strength has been the resilience of our tourism sector and, more specifically, our strategy of attracting a diverse portfolio of major sporting and cultural events coupled with significant investment in new world-class venues.
“We have the infrastructure, the skills and expertise, and above all the friendliness, energy and can-do attitude of the people of Glasgow, which makes this city the complete package.
“In an increasingly competitive global events market, Glasgow is now firmly established as a major player with a hugely ambitious events industry and we will continue to punch above our weight for many years to come.”
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Glasgow to create more volunteering opportunities
Glasgow City Council on Tuesday revealed plans to provide quality volunteering opportunities, with demand for opportunities is growing in the wake of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
The council says its new volunteering policy is “designed to create new volunteering opportunities, recognise the contribution that volunteers make to the city and the added value they bring to the council family”.
Volunteering opportunities are currently encouraged through services provided by the council and associated organisations, including mentoring and befriending, tutoring, sports coaching, outdoor activity and assisting with events.
But the council has discovered that Glasgow’s residents are increasingly seeking volunteering opportunities to allow them to contribute to their community, as a means of social engagement and to increase their experience and employability.
The volunteer effort was one of the most successful elements of the acclaimed Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. More than 1200 Host City Volunteers and 15,000 Clydesiders were praised for their efforts as well as the cast ceremony volunteers, Queen’s Baton Relay batonbearers and event teams giving up their time and putting in the effort to help deliver the best ever Games.
This has encouraged many people to seek out new volunteering opportunities, but there is currently a gap between the number of people who want to volunteer and the number of quality opportunities being advertised.
“We have seen a significant increase in public awareness and interest in volunteering in Glasgow, but only a moderate growth in opportunities in which people can get involved,” said David Maxwell, Operation Manager at Volunteer Glasgow.
“The city’s partners including the council, Glasgow Life and Volunteer Glasgow, are challenging themselves and other organisations across the public, private and voluntary sectors to take the chance of benefiting communities by enabling more people to donate their time, skills and energy in different and inventive ways.”
The council says it hopes to encourage volunteers to become more involved in their local communities and contribute to the design and delivery of services in their area to better meet the needs of the local community.
Special effort will be made to recruit volunteers from all backgrounds and be more inclusive – making sure those not usually able to access advertised opportunities will be able to do so. Guidance is expected to be issued on encouraging young people under 16 and asylum seekers to volunteer.
Councillor Archie Graham, Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council said: “We want to foster a mutually beneficial relationship with volunteers, where they can bring new skills and perspective to us while fulfilling their volunteering ambitions.
“This new policy is certainly not about replacing staff with volunteers. These new opportunities will be things that wouldn’t ordinarily have been undertaken if it weren’t for volunteers.
“It’s about recognising that there is a demand from people who want to volunteer for a whole host of reasons and about helping to fill that gap to benefit the individuals, our local communities and society as a whole.
“The added bonus is that our organisation will also benefit from the wealth and breadth of views, skills and experience that the volunteers will bring with them.”
The announcement was made after Volunteer Glasgow held its first Alistair Malloy Inspire Awards in the City Chambers on Monday night and national Volunteers’ Week drew to a close.
The Inspire Award nominees demonstrate the impact of volunteering in health and social care, housing and homelessness, refugee integration, sport and events, the environment, employability and community development.
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Glasgow to host 2015 Davis Cup semi-final
Glasgow’s Emirates Arena is to host the Davis Cup by BNP Paribas World Group semifinal between Great Britain and Australia on 18 – 20 September, the Lawn Tennis Association announced on Tuesday.
“We are delighted that Glasgow has been selected to host the Aegon GB Davis Cup Team once again for the semi-final against Australia in September,” said Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events.
“Scotland is the perfect stage for events and we are certain that fans from all across the country will turn out in force to show their support at the Emirates Arena.”
Andy Murray, who won both of his singles matches against USA at the Emirates Arena in March, said “It’s exciting for the team to be going back to Glasgow. It’s always special to play in front of a home crowd and we are fortunate to have played our last three ties at home.
“We had a unique atmosphere in Glasgow, the crowd was unbelievable. It’s going to be a huge week for our team and we’ll be doing everything we can to get GB through to the final.”
The indoor arena in Glasgow’s East End was built to host badminton events at the 2014 Commonwealth Games and now hosts basketball on a regular basis. It will have its capacity extended to 8,200 and a hard court laid down for the Davis Cup event.
The Great Britain vs. Australia semi-final coincides with the meeting between Belgium and Argentina at Forest National in Belgium.
The winner of the semi-final in Glasgow will either travel to Belgium or welcome Argentina for the final in November. -
Glasgow to host MTV Live Lockdown
MTV is returning to Glasgow to stage MTV Live Lockdown on 30th September – the second MTV live music event to be produced in the city in less than a year.
The news builds on the success of Glasgow’s hosting of the MTV European Music Awards (EMAs) in November 2014 and the MTV Crashes in 2010.
MTV Live Lockdown is an eight-part series in which a selection of high profile artists travel underground and emerge for a special showcase performance in front of a live audience.
MTV UK is partnering with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau (GCMB) and EventScotland to deliver the event, which will be produced by JJ Stereo and filmed and broadcast as a 3 x 30-minute series set to air on 30th October on MTV Music and MV Live HD.
Confirmed performers include English rapper and dance phenomenon, Example, two piece band, Slaves and chart topping British duo, Sigma.
The acts will perform in a coliseum style set, providing a 360 degree view for an intimate and exclusive audience of approximately 500 fans.
Paul Bush, Director of Events at VisitScotland: “It’s fantastic to welcome MTV to Scotland once more and hold the first production of MTV Live Lockdown outside of London. MTV Live Lockdown forms part of a legacy from the 2014 MTV EMA which was also hosted here; further reinforcing Scotland’s reputation as the perfect stage for events”.
Paul Bush is speaking at HOST CITY 2015 in Glasgow, the leading EU-based meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, on 9 to 10 November. -
Gymnastics and Golf join 2018 European Sports Championships
Gymnastics and Golf are to join the prestigious line up of leading sports who will stage their European Championships together in 2018 for the first time in their history, the sports’ European associations announced on Friday.
The dates of the inaugural Championships were also confirmed as the 1st to 12th August 2018.
The two new sports join Athletics, Aquatics, Cycling, Rowing and Triathlon, who have decided to come together for the first time for the European Sports Championships which will be staged in the Host Cities of Glasgow and Berlin.
“One of the challenges this project had to face was to create a programme that could offer the best conditions for athletes to express themselves while also creating interest for the main TV networks in Europe. The result of very fruitful discussions allow me to express my satisfaction that Glasgow and Berlin will showcase one of the best events of all time,” said Paolo Barelli, President of the Ligue Européenne de Natation (European Aquatics.
“Each individual European Federation will create a fantastic programme that will maximise interest and LEN is proud to be a pioneering partner of such an ambitious project that will contribute significantly to the development of sport.”
The European Artistic Gymnastics Championships will be staged in Glasgow at the SSE Hydro while the brand new European Golf team championships will take place at Scotland’s prestigious Gleneagles course.
“It is very exciting for Golf Europe to be invited to join some of Europe’s leading sports in the inaugural European Sports Championships, with three new European Golf Team Championships for female, male and mixed teams,” said Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy.
“This is part of our vision of encouraging all European nations to participate in golf, and it is fitting that Gleneagles will host the first staging of this event, having been the venue for last year’s Ryder Cup, when Europe memorably united through team golf.”
Berlin will host the 2018 European Athletics Championships from the 7th to 12th August, with Glasgow hosting the six other European Championships over the 12 days.
“As one of the key sports, European Athletics has been happy to lead the process in the creation of the principles of good governance for the inaugural European Sports Championships, and we are pleased to move forward with this strong framework in place,” said European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen.
“We are looking forward to a fantastic European Athletics Championships in Berlin in 2018 as part of this exciting multi-sport concept. We are sure the European Sports Championships will bring additional values and benefits to athletics in Europe and to the Berlin championships.”
The partnership between European Athletics, Aquatics (LEN), Cycling (UEC), Rowing (FISA) and Triathlon (ETU) welcomed European Gymnastics (UEG) and Golf Europe is set to create a major new multi-sport event on the world stage, attracting a projected television audience of around 850 million and an even wider audience via multiple digital platforms.
The newly-formed European Sports Championships 2018 Board 2018 Board also ratified the organisational rules and decision-making processes to ensure strong governance going forward.
This innovative new approach by the governing bodies, who announced their plans earlier this year, brings the existing European Championships together from seven sports in a sustainable format once every four years in order to continue building their prestige, profile and media exposure.
Around 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin as part of the European Athletics Championships while approximately 3,025 athletes will visit Scotland for the other six events.
All seven Championships will be staged within the agreed date window.
“With all the sports now confirmed for 2018 Glasgow is again ready to show the excellence and innovation with which it can stage world class events on the global stage,” said Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council.
“Major events have become a crucial part of our city’s economy and we can now look forward with tremendous excitement and focus to partnering with this fantastic group of sports to continue to create opportunity and help improve health and well-being outcomes for our citizens.”
The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the consortium for the continent’s public service free-to-air broadcasters, will be the broadcast partner for the combined championships, which are expected to generate more than 2750 hours of programming across Europe’s biggest broadcasters.
EBU President Jean-Paul Philippot, said: “With seven sports now part of the first edition, the European Sports Championships will be the centrepiece of the sports season in Europe and public service media is proud to participate in the promotion of European sports and its athletes through extensive free-to air coverage across television, digital and radio.”
The Golf event will be staged over 5 days and include men’s team, women’s team and mixed team competition.
Two male and female athletes per nation will participate, with the top 16 European nations included.
The Gymnastics event will include both the Men’s and Women’s Artistic Championships, with around 600 athletes competing in Glasgow over six days.
“We are really excited to be included in the 2018 European Sports Championships as it represents a huge opportunity for Gymnastics to further raise its profile right across Europe,” , said Georges Guelzec, President of European Gymnastics.
“We can also think of no better city than Glasgow to host our 600 competitors who will compete in the men’s and women’s European Artistic Championships.”
Innovative event hosting formats is a key theme of Host City 2015, which takes place in Glasgow on 9th to 10th November. Register your attendance at www.bidtowin-hostcity.net -
Host City 2016 to return to Glasgow on 16 and 17 November
After the hugely successful Host City 2015 event in Glasgow in November, the must-attend conference and exhibition for leaders in event hosting will return to the state-of-the-art Technology and Innovation Centre on 16 and 17 November 2016.
At Host City 2016, cities, event owners and suppliers will exhibit alongside a truly outstanding conference programme in the heart of Glasgow.
As the largest conference and exhibition of cities and cross-sector events, Host City provides a much needed one-stop event where city representatives, destination marketers, event owners and suppliers can all meet.
Host City 2015 was twice the size of the 2014 launch event in London and Host City 2016 is set to double again to reach 500 attendees from cities and destination marketing organisations, cross-sector rights holders and suppliers.
Host City features world class speakers from IOC, CGF, FIFA, sports federations, BIE, EU Capital of Culture, major scientific congresses; city event leaders from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Norway, Japan, Qatar, Russia, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, USA and many more.
The conference attracts delegates and exhibitors from cross sector rights holders, together with organising committees, city halls, national Olympic committees, Convention Bureaus and the suppliers that make city events possible.
The event is firmly established as the optimal environment for cities, events owners and suppliers to network with and learn from peers in the business of bidding for and hosting cross-sector events, from mega sports events to live entertainment and congresses.
With a mix of panel discussions, keynote addresses and case studies on how to attract and host secure and engaging sports, business and cultural events. The conference highlights the issues and opportunities facing everyone in the business of city events.
Host City attracts the attention of global media, with coverage from Press Association, Daily Telegraph, Daily Mail, O Globo, Bloomberg, Associated Press, ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, Huffington Post, Yahoo, China Sports, Indian Express, Yomiuri Shimbun, Sports Illustrated, Washington Times, MSN, Eurosport, STV, Kyodo News, Sky News, audioBoom and many more. Media partners have included SportCal, Around the Rings, iSportConnect, fcbusiness, SportBusiness, Sports Features, SportsPro.
What attendees said about Host City 2015:
“Thanks again for a conference that was interesting, inspiring, very very well organised and a good opportunity to meet some interesting people” – Alex Koch, Corporate Communications Manager, FIFA
“It was a good platform which is completely new to us; it’s very interesting to meet senior level associations, buyers, suppliers, all areas of the business” – Livio Götz, Market Manager UK & Ireland, Switzerland Convention & Incentive Bureau
“An inspiring event” – Karel Bartak, Head of Culture, European Commission
“I was really impressed by the quality of the event – the speakers, the delegates, the topics and the venue” – Robert Datnow, Managing Director, The Sports Consultancy
“Great conference, well organised and a very good subject area” – Martin Fitchie, Programme Manager, European Sports Championships Management
“A great success” – Bridget McConnell, Chief Executive, Glasgow Life
“The speakers have all been good, the panels have been good and it’s explored a lot of different areas” Hamish Fraser, Group Director, NVT Group
“A good conference with interesting and motivating sessions” – Jon Ola Sand, Executive Supervisor, Eurovision Song Contest, European Broadcast Union
“It was interesting to be here to promote the city of Bern as a host destination for major and small sports and cultural events” – Bernhard Rhyn, Bern Incoming Ltd.
“I found Host City to be very useful for audioBoom as a platinum sponsor for meeting a lot of people who we want to engage with in the sports and event industry” – Marc Webber, Head of Sport, audioBoom
“The quality of the speakers and the content was outstanding” – Mike Hopper, CEO, Advance Brand Consulting
Join the Host City movement
We look forward to welcoming you to Host City 2016, the EU’s leading meeting of cities and sports, business and cultural events, in Glasgow on 16th to 17th November.
For more information on Host City 2016, join the conversation on on Twitter using #HostCity and visit http://www.bidtowin-hostcity.net. For updates on Host City 2016 and much more, keep an eye on www.hostcity.com
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Scotland hosts international sports bodies as European Athletics evaluates Glasgow bid
A delegation representing European Athletics arrived in Glasgow on Monday to spend two days in Scotland as part of evaluation visits to cities bidding for the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships.
And this is just one of a series of important meetings with international sports bodies scheduled for the year.
Further visits from international federations will take place over the next two to three weeks, an EventScotland spokesperson told Host City, as Scotland continues to bid for and secure the right to stage some of the world’s most prestigious events.
Glasgow is hosting the 2018 European Sports Championship with Berlin. And Glasgow will also welcome the world of sports, business and cultural events to Host City 2016 on 16 and 17 November.
Glasgow is one of four potential hosts of the 2019 Indoor Athletics Championships and, if successful, would be the first Scottish destination for a European Athletics event in 15 years.
The other cities competing to host the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships are Apeldoorn (Netherlands), Minsk (Belarus) and Torun (Poland).
Evaluation site visits are underway during February and March, before the Evaluation Commission files a report to the European Athletics Council.
The 2017 European Athletics Indoor Championships will take place in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Council will vote on which city will host the 2019 championships on 23 April at its meeting in Amsterdam after presentations by the bidders that meet the requirements of the evaluation process.
The Evaluation Commission consists of Karel Pilný (Evaluation Chair); Célia Mendes, Marcel Wakim and Bernadette Brun.
“In recent years Glasgow has established itself as one of the world’s top sporting cities thanks to our investment in new facilities and our international sporting events programme,” said Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council and Chair of Glasgow Life, Councillor Archie Graham OBE.
“Athletics has been at the very heart of our rise as a world-leading sporting city. This weekend’s Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix will take the sport to a new level and we hope to build on that success with the 2019 European Athletics Indoor Championships, which would see Europe’s top athletes return to the Emirates Arena. Our aim is to deliver a world-class event with athletes and spectators at its very heart.”
As well as meeting with bid partners, including the Scottish Government, EventScotland, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Athletics and British Athletics, the group toured the Emirates Arena.
The itinerary also includes a visit to proposed training venue Scotstoun Sports Campus, and an assessment of Glasgow’s ability to accommodate hundreds of athletes and, potentially, thousands of tourists.
“This weekend’s 2016 Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix has sold out months in advance, demonstrating the huge support for elite athletics there is within the Scottish public,” said Niels de Vos, Chief Executive of British Athletics.
“I’m delighted that Glasgow City and EventScotland decided to build on the success of the 2014 Commonwealth Games and previous British Athletics events held in the city by bidding to host European Athletics’ flagship indoor event at the Emirates Arena in 2019.”
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Glasgow and Berlin unite under new European Championships brand
The hosts and rights holders of the innovative event taking place in Glasgow and Berlin in 2018 have unveiled a new, unifying brand identity under the name “European Championships” – shortened from the previous title of “European Sports Championships”.
The multi-sport event in August 2018 brings together the existing European Championships of athletics, aquatics, cycling, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon, and also introduces a new golf team championship onto the European stage.
The brand is represented by a new logo, the star-like “Mark of a Champion” said to represent the vision at the heart of the new multi-sport championships, the aim of which is said to “create a must-attend, must-watch experience that elevates the status of European Champions”.
The logo was created in partnership by the sports federations, Host Cities Glasgow and Berlin and broadcast partner the European Broadcasting Union (EBU).
“The launch of this impressive brand is the starting gun for a European Championships concept that will help elevate the Berlin 2018 European Athletics Championships to a scale we have never seen before,” said European Athletics President Svein Arne Hansen, co-chair of the 2018 European Championships Board.
“In Berlin we have a fantastic host city for our Championships, and in the German athletics federation, we have a committed partner who have produced a great generation of athletes. We are all committed to delivering the best-ever European Athletics Championships.”
The organising partners said the event will take place every four years, anticipating a television audience of around 1 billion, plus multiple digital and radio platforms in 2018.
Around 1500 athletes are expected to compete in Berlin from 7-12 August as part of the European Athletics Championships, while approximately 3025 athletes are set to visit Scotland for the other six events between 1 and 12 August.
“I am delighted that Glasgow’s vibrant personality shines through this new brand,” said Councillor Frank McAveety, Leader of Glasgow City Council.
“We have worked together with these amazing sports to create something that reflects all of our values by embracing our ambition, our strength in unity and our ongoing journey to provide opportunities for all of our citizens through the power of sport and culture.”
Senator Frank Henkel, City of Berlin, said: “We are really pleased to see the unveiling of the umbrella brand for the European Championships of which we are part. Our city is well underway in its preparations for the European Athletics Championships, and our own Berlin 2018 mark will be unveiled soon.”
Each of the participating sports are due to unveil their own event logos in the coming months.
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Glasgow becomes the hub of ITS this June
Glasgow will be hosting the largest annual event of ITS professionals in Europe during the first week of June. In addition to the picturesque scenery, world class architecture and a vibrant nightlife and shopping scene, the city will be bustling with over 2,500 ITS professionals coming from around the continent to meet, discuss, and learn from each other.
Glasgow has a rich and varied background in ITS, being one of the very first to deploy several intelligent transport solutions and has since been constantly developing these solutions year after year in hope of becoming one of the smartest cities in Europe today. Over decades, Glasgow has transformed itself into a smarter, safer, and more environmentally friendly city with smart street lights able to record pollution levels or below the surface road sensors detecting traffic flow.
What better destination for the European ITS community get together?
Whether you come from a background of policy, research or business, or consider yourself an amateur transport enthusiast, we invite you to join us in Glasgow 6 to 9 June for the 11th ITS European Congress. The theme of this year’s Congress is “Delivering Future Cities Now”; with focus on increasing connectivity, bringing new services to users and improving communication, in a sustainable way.
After a highly successful call for papers the European Program Committee met in Brussels at the beginning of March to finalise this year’s Congress programme. The selected papers have been organised into over 100 sessions in accordance with the 5 key topics ranging from automation through sustainability and environmental impact to satellite services and user centric service initiatives.
“The Congress is designed to provide insight into the real life ITS solutions of today and showcase the ideas of tomorrow with an interactive and wide array of programmes and activities”, Didier Gorteman, Director of Congress and Chair of the European Programme Committee, explained. “In addition to the session discussions, demonstrations will give participants the chance to experience technological advancements first-hand while the exhibition will provide the opportunity to stumble on some of the ingenious ideas revolutionising transport today”, he continued.
The growing list of exciting events include a Mayor Summit on Wednesday 8 June, where leaders of European cities big and small can discuss and share knowledge on deploying ITS solutions in urban environments. Building on the success of previous years, a special student programme is also under way where the organisers are preparing events appealing to the younger generation in addition to offering special discounted rates for students.
For those looking for a more hands-on experience, several technical visits are planned on 7 and 8 June including a visit to the Glasgow Operations Centre (GOC), a state-of-the-art integrated traffic and public safety management control room; a tour of the Traffic Scotland National Control Centre (TSNCC); and the United Kingdom’s largest bus depot.
Glasgow will surely match up to one of the most anticipated social highlights of the Congress with a gala dinner held in the Kelvingrove Art Gallery & Museum. In addition to a spectacular dinner and entertainment, visitors will have a chance to visit the extensive collection of over 8000 objects providing a rich insight into the history and arts of Scotland.
The 11th European ITS Congress 2016 is organised by ERTICO – ITS Europe in partnership with the European Commission, and hosted by Glasgow City Council and Transport Scotland. Visit Scotland, the Scottish Exhibition and Conference Centre (SECC), ITS United Kingdom and the Glasgow City Marketing Bureau strongly support the event.
Registrations are now open, with exceptional early bird rates until 18 April!