Glasgow to co-host new multi-sport championships

Glasgow 2014's women's road race more cycling is in store. Picture: Neil Hanna

The sporting partnership predicted to attract a television audience of around 850 million, was announced in Berlin yesterday.

It follows the highly successfully Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and will see many existing sporting venues used to stage cycling, rowing, triathlon and rowing events in the inaugural championships.

An announcement on the bid to stage golf at Gleneagles, Perthshire, is expected within weeks.

Berlin will host the athletics at their iconic Olympic Stadium.

Glasgow’s opening ceremony will be held in George Square with celebrations in Sauchiehall Street and the Merchant City.

The championships will bring a tourism and business boost to Glasgow enhancing the £360 million already generated annually by sporting events.

Around 2,900 athletes will come to Scotland as part of a total delegation of around 8,200 including officials.

The swimming events will be staged at three venues with the main swimming competition at Tollcross International Swimming Centre. Diving and synchronised swimming will be held at the Royal Commonwealth Pool in Edinburgh. Loch Lomond will be the setting for the open water swimming event.

The four cycling championships – track, road race, mountain-biking and BMX – are being staged together for the first time at the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails, city centre streets and a new BMX track.

Rowing and triathlon will be held at Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire.

Jamie Hepburn, minister for sport health improvement and mental health, said: “Last summer Scotland showed the world what a tremendous job it can do when it comes to staging major sporting events, with the Commonwealth Games and the Ryder Cup both hugely successful.

“As part of the legacy of those events, we want to attract even more top class sport to Scotland, and the European Sports Championships is certainly in that category.

Councillor Gordon Matheson, leader of Glasgow City Council, said: “We have been chosen because of our excellence and innovation and our proven ability to stage world-class events.”

Mr Matheson continued: “Not to mention of course our citizens’ world-famous warm welcome, so superbly demonstrated during the Commonwealth Games, described as the best ever staged.”