Glasgow Chamber Of Commerce

The Co-ordination Commission (CoCom) of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) today concluded its second inspection visit to Glasgow, the host city of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

The four member panel, chaired by Bruce Robertson, CGF Vice-President, has spent two days meeting with the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee and representatives from a range of Games' partners.
 
Speaking at a media conference at the headquarters of the Organising Committee, Mr Robertson praised the progress made by the games organisers and partners since the first CoCom visit in October 2011. Much of this progress is a natural part of the 'gearing up' process as the organisers enter into the detailed operational planning phase now we are just 28 months away from the start of the Games.

Particular milestones singled out by Mr Robertson included:

• The opening of two refurbished venues: Royal Commonwealth Pool and Kelvingrove Lawn Bowls, and the good progress being made on construction of all other venues and in particular the Commonwealth Arena ; all the infrastructure projects are progressing well and are on track for completion and operation well ahead of the Games.
• The Organising Committee's responsible approach to managing public funding.  They have created a culture of strong budget control and are on target to deliver the Games within the approved £524 million budget.
• The welcome addition of 60 staff by Glasgow 2014 since the CoCom's last visit as the Organising Committee builds headcount and capacity in the build-up to delivering the Games.
• The commencement of detailed work on the Model Venue Exercise; the template which will guide the planning of all the venues to be used during the games.  This will define the temporary designs of the venues and overlay requirements.

Mr Robertson also singled out the significant progress being made by all Games partners, in particular Glasgow City Council and the Scottish Government, on ensuring that the Games deliver a lasting legacy for the people of Glasgow and Scotland. Legacy milestones include: the creation of a £5m fund to boost youth employment and the delivery of 45 community sports hubs - the first of 150 sports hubs which will be open by 2016.

No project on the scale of the Commonwealth Games comes without its challenges, and the CoCom also highlighted areas where the organisers must maintain focus in order to ensure a successful event. The installation of the athletics track at the Hampden Park football stadium is a unique and innovative project which will require constant monitoring by the organisers. The security budget will need to be managed carefully by the Scottish Government and the responsible public safety and security agencies. The Athletes Village is always a challenge for any event organiser.  It is a large multi-party undertaking.  It must achieve a high standard of amenity and functionality to support the athletes and to ensure Scotland and Glasgow is a great host.  Much is yet to be done in the coming months and we will be monitoring this closely. The CGF encourages Glasgow City Council, the Organising Committee and the developer, City Legacy, to focus on resolving all remaining issues and deliver a great housing development which for a short time will be a great Games Village. 
 
Mr Robertson concluded by saying:

"While there is no time to waste, we are delighted with the progress the Organising Committee, the Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and Commonwealth Games Scotland have made since we were here last in October 2011. The partnership we have struck with these organisations is a truly collaborative one and importantly one of mutual respect which is geared towards great outcomes for Glasgow, Scotland and great Games for the Commonwealth.

What we are seeing in Glasgow and in Scotland is a growing competency which will deliver not only great games in 2014 but will continue to support the event hosting platform Scotland has been building for some time." 

Glasgow 2014 Chairman Lord Smith said:

"We warmly welcome the Coordination Commission's report on Glasgow 2014's progress, and in particular the acknowledgement of our responsible approach to managing public funding and our culture of strong budget control.

"Glasgow 2014 has made "significant progress" in many critical areas since the last visit six months ago, including increasing staff numbers by 60 to 136 and making substantial headway in the detailed planning for individual venues.

"Glasgow 2014 has worked very hard to make partnership working integral to our approach, and we believe that with our Games Partners we will create a meaningful and lasting legacy for the people and communities of Glasgow and Scotland. The Commission has praised progress in realising the legacy ambitions of the Games Partners which is highly valued.

"With 839 days to go, we would wish to reiterate the sentiment of the Commission in that there is no time to waste. As Glasgow 2014 moves further into the detailed planning for the Games, we are confident about the progress made to date but by no means complacent about the scale of the task ahead."