Glasgow 2014 sets ‘gold standard’ for nations

A survey of 20,000 spectators also found 91 per cent were satisfied, with the top three words used in feedback being “fantastic”, “exciting” and “fun”.

The release of the figures follow initial fears that stadiums and venues may have been partly empty.

Some tickets were said to be too expensive, with prices for the opening ceremony costing more than £200.

Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg yesterday said Scotland had set a “gold standard” for future host nations to follow.

He said: “The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games has made history as the best Commonwealth Games ever, setting a new gold standard for the Commonwealth sports movement and new benchmarks for event delivery.”

He also praised Glasgow itself, saying it had received “universal accolades for a proud host city and its people for the joyous enthusiasm with which they embraced athletes and visitors during Scotland’s biggest-ever sporting and cultural festival”.

The first phase of ticket sales for Glasgow 2014 ran from 19 August to 16 September 2013, with 2.3 million

requests received for the one million tickets available.

Nine days before the Games began, tickets for various events were still available, but a last-minute surge led to packed-out stadiums amid a record-breaking Scottish medal haul.

Both England and Scotland won more gold medals and more medals overall than they have done at any previous Games.

Scottish Government sport secretary Shona Robison said: “The number of spectators at the Games exceeded all expectations.

“Time after time we saw amazing crowds who really helped make the Games and cheered on athletes whether they were winning or not.”

Other new figures revealed that in their quest for glory athletes had nearly 500,000 meals at the £230 million athletes’ village.

The 700-house village hosted 4,500 competitors and another 2,300 staff from the 71 competing nations.

Around 65,000 handmade fresh fruit smoothies were made from the 100 tonnes of fruit and vegetables delivered to the site in the East End of the city.

The athletes also had 30,000 bags of clothes laundered and 150,000 towels washed.

And there were more than 3.5 million mentions of Glasgow 2014 on social media and more than 450,000 downloads of the Games app.

Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said the Games were “without a doubt the best-ever in the event’s history”.

He said: “This is something we should take enormous pride in after all the hard work, training and planning from all involved over the years.

“The legacy of these Games won’t just be a golden glow in people’s memory, but a city that has been changed forever and is looking confidently to its future.”

The organisers said the opening ceremony on 23 July at Celtic Park, where performers included Rod Stewart and Susan Boyle, was watched by an estimated global television audience of more than one billion people.

The closing ceremony marked the end of an almost seven-year journey for Glasgow that began on 9 November, 2007, when the city was awarded the Games.