Plans unveiled for Glasgow Youth Olympic Games bid

• Tollcross International Aquatics Centre will host swimming events in 2014 Commonwealth Games and is mooted as proposed venue for similar at the Youth Olympic Games in 2018

• 15 out of 17 proposed sites in the city will be completed before the end of 2013

• Lord Coe, who masterminded London 2012 Olympics has given his backing to the bid

Young athletes from the City of Glasgow Swim Team (COGST) joined Commonwealth Games and sport minister Shona Robison and other dignitaries at the Tollcross International Aquatics Centre for the

announcement.

The COGST has more than 300 members and runs a development scheme which has nurtured the talents of top UK swimmers, including London 2012 silver medallist Michael Jamieson.

The Tollcross facility, which was built from a £300 million investment in sports infrastructure, will host swimming events at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and is the proposed venue for swimming, diving and modern pentathlon fixtures during the YOG in 2018.

A total of 15 out of 17 sites proposed for use in the 2018 bid will be completed before the end of 2013 and 85 per cent of those are no more than 20 minutes travel from the Youth Olympic Village.

The proposals were unveiled by Glasgow 2018’s bid team, which is comprised of the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and the British Olympic Association.

Legacy

Ms Robison said: “Warmth and hospitality alongside an excellent reputation for hosting world-class sport events makes Glasgow, and Scotland, the perfect stage for the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

“Young athletes competing at the top of their field rightly expect the very best facilities and support services.

“Building on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics and the forthcoming 2014 Commonwealth Games, Scotland stands ready to be an exciting, dynamic host of the Youth Olympic Games.”

The bid has received the seal of approval from Lord (Sebastian) Coe, chairman of the BOA and the London 2012 Organising Committee (Locog).

He said: “The Youth Olympic Games is a fresh, exciting, young product.

“By entrusting it to Glasgow 2018, the Olympic family will have a historic opportunity to draw on the unprecedented pool of sophisticated event-hosting expertise and global youth engagement programmes in the UK right now.

“We delivered our promises and we achieved our goals at London 2012, and we’re ready to continue that partnership with the Olympic family in Glasgow in 2018, another sports city in our sporting nation.”

Glasgow City Council leader Gordon Matheson admits he is excited by the impact of investment in sport for Glasgow’s young people and local communities.

He said: “We have invested in the sporting and cultural infrastructure over recent years in order to be capable of hosting world-class events.

“These not only put Glasgow on the world map but create jobs and opportunities for Glaswegians, and crucially encourage our young people to lead healthier and more active lifestyles.”

Experience

The strength of the Glasgow 2018 proposal is drawn from experience, according to Paul Bush, director of the bid team.

He said: “Glasgow 2018’s team of local and international experts has drawn on experience, insight and best practices from Locog and the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“That has helped us to produce an offering for the Olympic family that is robust and low-risk, but also innovative and truly visionary.”

In the last five years, the UK has hosted more than 120 world and European status events, and Glasgow is now ranked ninth in the SportBusiness Ultimate Sports City table.

A shortlist of candidate cities will be announced by the International Olympic Committee executive board in February 2013 and the appointment will be made a few months later in July.