26 . Glasgow Business August 2015
GAME ON.. AND ON... AND ON...
It’s been a year since the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games and the city is still enjoying the benefits
The Big G in George Square G
lasgow is still reaping the benefits from holding the Commonwealth Games in 2014 with boosts for businesses in many sectors.
While sport was the focus of the Games,
the city has benefited hugely from another big draw for visitors. Music tourism is a growing success story for Glasgow with the advent of a new venue that really puts the city in the world tour spotlight. Te SSE Hydro has had a remarkable
galvanising effect on visitor numbers to Glasgow. Te opening of the 13,000-capacity SSE Hydro in September 2013 helped boost the number of music tourists to Scotland to 520,000 in 2014. Tis helped account for Scotland’s economy
benefiting to the tune of £280 million from music tourism, according to recently published figures. Te Oxford Economics research for UK Music showed that the 720,000 foreign and domestic visitors to festivals and major concerts supported more than 2000 full-time jobs across Scotland last year. In the quarter from January to March 2015,
277,624 people atended shows at the SSE Hydro. New figures from Glasgow City Marketing
Bureau also show that the city has secured £75m in conference business in the first six months of 2015. Glasgow has confirmed 229
conferences until 2022 which equates to more than 65,000 delegates travelling to the city from around the world. Te 2014 Games legacy has also had a
major effect on the east end of the city, sparking investment and redevelopment in the area that experienced the most disruption in the run-up to and for the duration of the event. Te redevelopment of the former Athletes
Village, which had hosted 7000 international competitors and officials from around the world, is another key part of the Games legacy one year on. Te conversion of the properties into
family homes is creating a thriving community in the east end. Te first residents moved into their new homes in February. Tose families (more than 100) are being
followed by subsequent phases that will eventually see a total of 300 private houses, 400 homes for social rent, plus a 120-bed care home for the elderly. Te area will be served by facilities
including a school and community centre. A hub centre by the village will house a doctor’s surgery, nursery, chemist and shop. Across the Clyde from the village is
Cuningar Loop Woodland Park, a £5.7m legacy project planted with 15,000 trees, which will be about the size of 15 football pitches.
Glasgow 2014 banners were displayed around Glasgow during the Commonwealth Games
Te park, which will include an extensive path network, adventure play facilities and an already completed boardwalk, will have easy access from the new residential area when a bridge is completed. Cuningar is one of four brand new woods
in the making as part of the Games legacy, with a further 10 areas of woodland being developed to boost leisure in the city region. A recent study by Glasgow City Council
showed that the vast majority of east end residents believe the Games were worth it for their area of the city. Lord Smith of Kelvin, the Chair of Clyde Gateway, said: “I’m delighted that the findings of this study confirm the very encouraging response there has been locally to Clyde Gateway’s regeneration efforts. Te physical, social and economic transformation so far has been remarkable, but there is still much more to do, given we are just seven years into what is a 20-year programme of planned work.” Te success of the Games’ sporting events
themselves led to Glasgow hosting other major sporting competitions, particularly the European Championships, the first of an exciting new multi-sport event, which it is hosting jointly with Berlin in 2018. Te event, which will atract a projected
television audience of 850 million, will see Glasgow host four sports, including cycling
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52