20 . Glasgow Business August 2015


Former head of Glasgow 2014 David Grevemberg and gymnastic superstar Beth Tweddle MBE talk about the Games legacy for Glasgow


THE ‘BEST GAMES EVER’ KEEPS ON GIVING BACK


D


elegates from across the city’s businesses gathered in the Blythswood Hotel for our Glasgow Talks… Legacy event in July.


Speaking at the breakfast event were David


Grevemberg, former CEO of Glasgow 2014, and Beth Tweddle MBE, Britain’s most successful gymnast. Te Glasgow Talks event was kicked off by


Chamber Council Director, Paul Cooney, who introduced Grevemberg and Tweddle, with the gymnast raising everyone to their feet for a “20 minute warm up”. Aſter one or two squats and a lot of laughter,


everyone sat back down as David Grevemberg, the man behind the “best games ever”, took to the podium. He began with an emotive four minute video of the 2014 Games, starting from the celebratory moment in 2007 when the bid was won, to the fireworks of the closing ceremony in August 2014. “Tere’s no place like Glasgow, and the


2014 Commonwealth Games was the success story. Tat is actually what we refer to it as at the Commonwealth Commission,” Grevemberg said. “Glasgow was the first place to physically


raise the ground of an athletics pitch, 1.9 metres to be exact, in order for it to be a sustainable development all year round. Tis is now called Te Glasgow Solution by the athletics world,” he told the room. Glasgow was also the first Games to have its


own dedicated legacy team, focused on how the £575 million budget could be justified to the people of Glasgow. Tere was an emphasis on community, and the CEO explained that every procurement had a community benefit clause, in which the business had to have a strong Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focus and plan before it was awarded the work. Grevemberg shared some statistics with the


crowd about the impact of the Games on young people: 3,600 apprenticeships were created for school leavers, 600 students were trained in media and broadcasting, of which 200 were chosen to deliver with the host broadcaster. Tis media program was the first of its kind, but will be continued at the next games and beyond. Te positive impact was seen by businesses


too – 320 CEOs and political leaders came to Glasgow in the run up and during the Games,


£510 million of construction business was won, and £423 million of new business was secured by Scotish firms. “£198 million has been invested into sport in


Scotland since 2009. 134 community sports clubs have opened. Netball Scotland has seen a 58 per cent increase in members, Scotish Gymnastics has seen a 37 per cent increase in uptake. Tese are the figures that show the extent of the legacy of the Games,” Grevemberg said. He also spoke of the success of the Glasgow


infrastructures, highlighting the fact that Te SSE Hydro is the second busiest venue of its kind in the world, coming second only to the O2, beating sites such as Madison Square Garden in New York, which came in fiſth. He finished by saying that the 2015 World


Gymnastics Championships won’t know what’s hit them when they come to Glasgow, and raised a laugh as he introduced the second speaker of the day, Beth Tweddle MBE. Te Olympic bronze medallist took to the


stage and charmed the audience by raving about the shopping in Glasgow. “My trainer used to say to me ‘go shopping and relax’ when I needed to chill out during training and competitions up here. Tat will definitely be my advice for the competitors coming here in October.”


Paul Cooney, Beth Tweddle MBE and David Grevemberg


She went on to say she loved competing in


Glasgow over the years, and had done so on countless occasions. She told the room that it is well known in the gymnastics community that the “Glasgow crowds are crazy”. “Te thing is, at a competition, you expect the home competitors to have the audience behind them, but in Glasgow the crowd cheers for absolutely everyone, you’re just all so behind the athletes,” she said. Beth talked about the demand for tickets for


the Championships in October completely superseding expectations, with 35,000 tickets already being sold for the event. Te competition will see 500 gymnasts from 80 nations descend on the city, with the event being broadcast to 73 countries around the world. Te morning was rounded off with a


question and answer session, in which Tweddle talked about the advantages of having athletes as ambassadors in businesses. “Time management, dedication, motivation,


determination and resilience. Tey are all key skills for gymnasts, but they are also completely transferable across the board. Who beter to convince your colleagues and employees that you need to keep geting back up when you fall off the bars.”


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