Members of Glasgow city council say they will do everything to ensure the citizens of Glasgow benefit from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. They are determined not to repeat the mistakes made by other cities that have hosted Commonwealth Games, reports the Times.
Council wants to ensure the Games leave behind a lasting legacy for the city’s families, and to achieve that, city council is about to launch a six-month consultation asking people what they want the games to deliver.
Archie Graham, executive member for culture and sport said, “Glasgow aims to deliver a world-class Commonwealth Games in 2014 and a sustainable legacy for its people”.
The consultation will establish what communities across the city expect from the games, their views on the benefits they should leave and how they want to be involved.
Graham said, “volunteering will be an opportunity for around 15,000 local people to be actively involved in delivering the Games, so we will be relying on Glasgow to help us run the event. This represents a high level of community engagement and will be important, not only in ensuring citizens feel ownership of the event, but also in empowering people through developing skills and building confidence.
“We want to make sure everyone in Glasgow gets the maximum benefit from the Games not just for the 11 days of the sports extravaganza, but for a long time thereafter”.
Graham added, “we hope to show people that sport is a lifestyle worth pursuing and that the reason the athletes are able to compete is because they have a healthy lifestyle, not just in terms of physical activity but also because of their diet.
“We want to try and involve as many people as possible and realize the dream of having a healthy population in the city. We want to ensure we have health statistics we can be proud of after the Games”.
Graham said he hoped local companies get work from the Games and local people get jobs.
He said, “it is crucial we get this right as other places where the Games and other big events have taken place have not always got it right”.
