SPORT WORLD GYMNASTICS
WHOA! “T
How the Hydro turned staging sport on its head
OLYMPIC GAMES”
“IT HAS BEEN BETTER HERE THAN AT THE
BY WILLIAM PEAKIN
hank you very much. Tank you, because gymnastics needed to be organised like this. Gymnastics is a beautiful sport.” Te words of Profes-
sor Bruno Grandi, President of the Inter- nationale de Gymnastique, as he reflected on Glasgow’s staging of the 2015 World Gym- nastic Championships at the end of October. “You look at the presentation and the
gymnast has become the protagonist,” said Grandi. “Tey have been at the centre of the sport. Times before, we have forgotten this as a sport. In Glasgow, with this presentation, I believe it has been better here than at the Olympic Games.” Te championships were delivered
through a partnership between British Gymnastics and Glasgow Life, on behalf of Glasgow City Council, with significant sup- port from EventScotland and UK Sport. Over 10 days, the Hydro hosted 15,000 partici- pants, media, sponsors and guests - and the competition was watched by around 55,000 spectators. Glasgow’s SSE Hydro was pivotal in the
event’s staging, breaking with convention to provide one of the finest venues in the 46 editions of the championships. As well as an ‘in-the-round’ field of play,
innovations included the ‘Mega Wall’, a series of LED screens, six metres high and 20 metres long, and an eye- catching podium design, both of which placed more than 55,000 spectators at the heart of the action over 10 days of top-class compe- tition. For the first time, champi- onship organisers shared in-
formation via an app, containing a schedule of competition, training and warm-up times, meeting alerts, results, transport informa- tion and access to key documents. Venue graphics were designed and in-
stalled by event branding specialist LOOK, a collaboration between Glasgow-based design agency Tangent and brand applica- tion experts EVM. Field & Lawn supplied the coverings around the competition area. Jane Allen, chief executive of British
Gymnastics, said that 2015 would stand as a benchmark for host cities. “[It] started back in 2011 when the bid was won in Glasgow. A group of people came together to discuss how we were going to make this event one of the best world championships. Tat was our goal.”
America’s Simone Biles in Glasgow, where she won her third successive world title. Picture Jeff Holmes
EVENTSBASE | WINTER 2015 | 27
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