Should Glasgow bid to host the Commonwealth Games?

Published on Friday 19 August 2005 00:54

YES: Patricia Ferguson

Laying claim to title of best - and friendliest - small country in the world is no idle boast

THE bid document says it all: Scotland is a small country with big ambitions.

Over the next two years, the big ambition is to achieve the golden prize of bringing the 2014 Commonwealth Games to Glasgow.

Plans are already in place to have the world-class sporting facilities necessary, including a magnificent athletes' village which will act as a catalyst in regenerating housing and transport infrastructure in Glasgow.

Thousands of jobs will be created in the run-up to the games, boosting the local and national economy and ensuring a lasting legacy with benefits that go well beyond sport itself.

However, the bid for the Commonwealth Games will not rest only on the quality of facilities we can provide, but on the reputation of our country.

The bid will highlight the great festivals, the beautiful buildings steeped with history, the breathtaking scenery, the vibrant cities, the cutting-edge culture. The bid will explain why Scots, famed internationally for offering a warm welcome to visitors, are so keen to let the rest of the world know that laying claim to the title of best small country in the world is no idle boast.

The Commonwealth Games are recognised, by athletes and spectators alike, as the friendly games. Glasgow in 2014 will uphold those and enhance that particular title.

It is important to reinforce that this is Scotland's bid. It is the whole country which can benefit from the Glasgow games. The very fact that one of the world's largest sporting occasions is happening on Scottish soil will inspire people of all ages, especially the young, to get involved in sport and reap all the benefits that go with it.

Glasgow will aspire to be the epicentre of the games, but their influence and their legacy will extend to youngsters living in Hawick or the Hebrides, Stirling or Shetland, Dumfries or Dingwall. If Glasgow is the host, Scotland is the extended family that can share pride in that achievement.

The games will improve the quality of life for all Scots, breeding a renewed sense of self-confidence and generating a feel-good factor in communities the length and breadth of the country. Away from the building work and the cost-benefit analysis of economic impact, these effects may be intangible, but they are priceless nonetheless.

One of our key ambitions is that Scotland should become one of the world's foremost destinations for sporting and cultural events by the year 2015. Our reputation is enhanced by the staging of the MTV Awards, which attracted millions of viewers round the globe, the Open Golf Championship, which returned to St Andrews this summer, and the annual cultural gathering of the Edinburgh International Festival and Fringe, which is the world's biggest arts event by far.

It just so happens Scotland already has one big occasion under its belt for 2014, when the Ryder Cup is due to be held here. The Commonwealth Games in Glasgow would make for a hugely successful year.

Glasgow's bid to host the games is viable. It is winnable. It will leave an indelible mark across all of Scotland for years to come. The competition from other countries will no doubt present a major challenge, but I firmly believe that the huge majority of Scots will back the bid because they understand and appreciate what can flow from success.

I make no apology for the ambition which lies behind the decision to go ahead with this bid. The scale of that ambition is more than the prospect of a succession of Scottish athletes mounting the winners' podium to receive their medals to the deafening cheers of a passionate home crowd.

It's about galvanising the nation in the run-up to the games and celebrating the lasting legacy it will leave behind.

• Patricia Ferguson is Scottish Executive minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport.

NO: George Kerevan

It will cost too much, interest will be low and there are so many better ways to spend 25m

I WAS a member of Edinburgh council during the infamous Commonwealth Games of 1986. This was Edinburgh's second go at the games, premised on the grounds that the first one in 1970 had seemed to go so well. But 1986 was a disaster and a prime example of how it can all go pear-shaped. Glasgow beware.

For a start, 32 Commonwealth nations decided to boycott the Edinburgh games as a protest against Margaret Thatcher and her refusal to impose sanctions on apartheid South Africa. Only 26 nations turned up. (Scotland still performed badly, clocking up only three gold medals - even the Welsh got six.)

So, Glasgow 2014 might look a safe bet, but by then, half of Africa might have pulled out over Britain being beastly to Robert Mugabe, or the Indians and Pakistanis might have had a nuclear confrontation over Kashmir. Politics and sport are inseparable at this level.

Edinburgh also lost a fortune on the 1986 games. This is a very common occurrence. Sheffield is still paying for the 1991 World Student Games, though why anyone in their right mind thought folk would turn up in their thousands in Sheffield to watch students beats me.

Edinburgh's mistake was that the previous Tory council had neglected to make any money on selling the television rights to the games. Enter the rotund Robert Maxwell, who promised to bail us out. I got to meet him on a couple of occasions - a scary experience. It eventually transpired that Maxwell got all the publicity but never actually parted with any cash.

Glasgow is banking on the fact the Executive is promising to come up with 250 million for the 2014 games, supposedly representing 80 per cent of the cost.

For a start, the games are going to cost a lot more. The Manchester Commonwealth Games in 2002 cost more than 600 million. A decade hence, after Chinese Olympic one-upmanship has changed the ground rules, we will be talking a cool billion. There's no chance of the Executive coming up with that kind of cash. Besides, sporting Jack McConnell will not be around in 2014 when the cheques have to be signed.

Glasgow needs to ask itself who carries the can if there is a different team at Holyrood and they don't want to play.

But surely it is all worth it, because the Commonwealth Games brings in the visitors and puts your city on the map? Sometimes - but there is usually more hype attached to these events than there are real tourists in town spending money.

Manchester claimed that the 2002 Commonwealth Games attracted 84.4 million visitors, and that most came from America. From America? For the Commonwealth Games? The truth is that city marketing professionals can never admit failure, so every last visitor in a radius of 100 square miles - no matter what they came for - will be enlisted to make the statistics look good.

The other big problem for Glasgow is that, by 2014, we will all have broadband and big plasma screens on the living room and bedroom wall. So, just who is going to come to Glasgow to watch the small-bore rifle shooting or badminton mixed doubles?

The real question you have to ask is this: could Glasgow do something better with 250 million? The answer is, a thousand times, yes. The city could invent something new in terms of annual events and build itself a permanent visitor base. Why not a major-league international architecture or photography festival? Why not use the Firth of Clyde to good effect and create the world's biggest sailing festival?

No-one wishes Glasgow to fare badly in its bid, if that is what it wants. But surely the city has outgrown the need to mortgage its future on bidding for events such as the Commonwealth Games.

The balance between risk and outlay grows steadily worse. So, why not invest the cash on something home-grown. I'll come.

YOUR VIEWS

Sport for all

Rather than spending vast amounts of money on the Commonwealth Games which last for a fortnight with all the facilities being developed in Glasgow, I would prefer to see more effective co-ordination of sports throughout the country, with better facilities being developed in our schools and communities. Also, emphasis being placed on providing good facilities in smaller communities, which usually get forgotten about.

FIONA C RIDDELL

Skelmorlie, Ayrshire

A great occasion

Yes, of course Glasgow should bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games? It will be a great sporting occasion, like all sporting events held in Glasgow. The games will generate more jobs, reusable housing, tourism and other spin-offs.

BOB JACKMAN

Years of benefit

Although I'm pessimistic about the city's chances of getting something as big as the Commonwealth Games, there is no doubt it would be fantastic for Glasgow. The amount of money ploughed into facilities would benefit the residents for years. The income generated by visitors would be very welcome - just look at the amount of international interest the Garden Festival and City of Culture brought. It would also be great to see a Scottish team competing on their home turf - when the curling team won the gold medal at the Winter Olympics, they were hailed as British heroes, but everyone in Scotland felt that they were competing for Scotland. Also, any encouragement to the city's young to exercise more would be of benefit.

LORNA MCCALLUM

Bridge of Weir, Renfrewshire

No time for 'nimbys'

I'd be there like a shot, but I do feel they should insist on a Highland Games element should the bid succeed. That there has not yet been a Commonwealth Champion Caber Tosser so far is an iniquity that demands putting right. Seriously, I'd be 100 per cent in favour, I have very little patience with the "nimbys" and naysayers moaning on about the cost of the bid or the games. "How many hospitals or houses would that pay for, blah, blah, blah." I believe sport is THE most important cultural force for good in our continuing quest for tolerance and enlightenment. Also, after the Helsinki debacle, we need to be looking to drastically improve our performance in track and field; would that our athletes be feted for their world conquering excellence in the same way our cricketers are on the verge of.

NICK LEWIS

Tillicoultry, Clackmannanshire

Phenomenal boost

Bringing the Commonwealth Games to the city would not only be a phenomenal economic boost for Glasgow, but would also be symbolic of the ongoing economic and cultural renaissance that Glasgow is enjoying. Sport and Glasgow are synonymous, and bringing the games to the city would be an unrivalled opportunity to showcase Glasgow to the world. We've already shown, with international sports events such as the Champions' League final that the warmth of our welcome and quality of the services found in the city are an unbeatable combination.

LESLEY SAWERS

Chief Executive, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce

Don't spin numbers

We have to go for it as a nation and embrace all the positives it can bring to Scotland. However, please let's not get too carried away with the ridiculous figures suggested when it comes to economic spin-offs. We need to accept that when it comes to hosting big events like this, we cannot penny-pinch and must speculate to accumulate.

DAVID ALLEN

Musselburgh, East Lothian

Glasgow on the map

I think it's a fantastic idea. It shows real forward thinking by Glasgow City Council to aim for these games. It will allow us to build on the facilities we already have, and leave us with even better ones for the city's community in the long term. I think this is also a great opportunity to put Glasgow back on the map.

GORDON McCORMACK

Games Director, Glasgow Special Olympics

For all of Scotland

I think it's fantastic. It will be a Commonwealth Games bid for the whole of Scotland, not just Glasgow. But we're already sensing a rising confidence in the city. The bid itself is stimulating wide interest and bringing inward investment. I've got hotel developers already wanting to talk to me about possible projects. Also, the promise of 1 billion investment in transport will help to bring further business to the city.

SCOTT TAYLOR

Chief Executive, Greater Glasgow and Clyde Tourist Board

Beyond the hype

If there was a genuine likelihood the games would turn all our young couch potatoes to active sport and bring in multi-millions in economic spin-offs, I'd be all for it. But I fear beyond a two-week feast of sport, there isn't an awful lot - just hype.

ROBERT COWIE

Leith, Edinburgh