London 2012 blog

It is hard to believe that just over a week has passed since the vote to determine the Host City of the 2014 Commonwealth Games started.  The entire Glasgow 2014 team, together with hundreds of thousands of Scots around the globe, were all so nervous and excited.  It isn’t often I sit holding hands with the Chief Executive of Glasgow City Council!


 
The story of Glasgow’s bid began in February 2004, when the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland invited cities to consider making a bid for the 2014 Games.  Since then almost 2 million people have pledged their support at www.glasgow2014.com and six major supporters signed up to back Scotland’s bid.  The Glasgow 2014 team travelled to 67 nations and territories around the Commonwealth and presented a 600-plus page Candidate City File to the CGF, detailing Glasgow’s vision for the Games.  Then during the summer we welcomed delegates from 69 countries to Scotland, where we were able to bring our bid to life.

After fifty-five months of passionate campaigning we delivered a final 30-minute presentation 5600 miles from home at the CGF General Assembly in Sri Lanka.  This was crucial in securing a majority of votes from 71 delegates.  I watched and waited as Scotland’s First Minister, Alex Salmond, leader of Glasgow City Council, Steven Purcell and chair of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, Louise Martin together with former Scottish champion decathlete Jamie Quarry, delivered the most impassioned plea of their lives.

Each spoke about what winning would mean for Glasgow and Scotland.  Each conveyed that Glasgow has the infrastructure, the facilities and the experience to make sure that all athletes - not just the medal winners - have the performance of their lives, and that the City of Glasgow will embrace the Games with a sense of fun and excitement will make sure athletes and spectators have the time of their lives. 

You can read the speeches and watch the five films that comprised Glasgow 2014’s full presentation at http://www.glasgow2014.com/Media-Centre/wewon/.

As each delegate walked forward and voted my heart quickened.  After what seemed like an eternity Mike Fennell, President of the CGF, rose to his feet, adding to the tension by asking; “Does anyone have any questions?”  Then at 12.42 (UK time), with the words, “And the Host City of the 2014 Commonwealth Games is …Glasgow” he transformed a dream into reality and sent a nation into rapturous celebration.  In the end we secured 47 of the 71 available votes.



Now I’ve returned home and seen the effect the win had on the people in my home town of Glasgow it is only really sinking in how much this really means to a nation and how much it will shape Scotland’s future from an inspirational, economic and health perspective.
 
I welcome the fact that the Games will regenerate the east end of Glasgow in the same way that the 2012 Olympics will regenerate east London. As importantly, both sporting extravaganzas will provide a platform to put sport even more fully on the agenda in our society. 

As we said in the Candidate City File the first 100 days of transition from a bid to a Games would be a time of laying the groundwork for a great social legacy. An Organising Company, Glasgow 2014 Ltd, has already been set up and will oversee the plans.  The Games strategic committee hopes to appoint a company chairperson and develop a rolling business plan for the first three years within this period.  Indeed the fact that we are meeting less than a week after the announcement was made in Sri Lanka shows that we are keeping our promises and getting right down to business.

It was the people of Scotland who helped make our Games dream a reality. The enthusiasm and excitement shown by people across the country did not go unnoticed.  It's up to us all now to keep building the excitement to make sure we put on an electrifying Games and to make sure that we make the most of this wonderful opportunity.