There seems to be a war of words between two cities bidding for the 2014 Commonwealth Games – Glasgow, Scotland and Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.
The Sunday Herald reports that according to its Canadian rival Halifax, Glasgow’s bid to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games will be handicapped by the London 2012 Games. The newspaper reports that Scott Logan, CEO of Halifax 2014, international bodies would be reluctant to award another major sporting event so soon to a city in the UK. Logan also reportedly said Glasgow was talked down as a possible venue when he visited Melbourne to promote Halifax’s bid.
The newspaper says Logan has dispensed with diplomatic niceties by claiming that London’s 2012 Games will have a detrimental effect on Scotland. In an interview with the Sunday Herald Logan said Glasgow was a “great sporting city” but the bid would be seen as coming too soon after the London event.
He said, “some people may think (given) the fact that the 2002 Games were held in Manchester and the Olympics will be held in London in 2012, that the same locality will be visited more frequently than it should”.
He added that Glasgow’s bid was “bad timing” and awarding two major sporting events to British cities in two years would not be viewed favourably.
He said, “I have heard this argument raised by a number of people internationally. I do suspect voters will consider it. It may well be an issue for some people”, claiming that “some of the Commonwealth Games Associations from other countries, in Melbourne” mentioned it. “It’s not the first time I’ve heard it”, he said.
But he said in contrast to the Glasgow bid a more persuasive case came from Africa where Nigeria is among the favourites.
“We have got a lot of understanding and respect for the rights of other countries and continents that haven’t necessarily had the opportunity to host in the past. With that thought in mind, Nigeria certainly has a valid reason for hosting”.
Meanwhile a source close to First Minister Jack McConnell said Logan was trying to deflect attention from Halifax’s bid problems. “Halifax know they have a problem with their bid because they have no facilities on the ground at the moment. I can imagine they will be doing all they can to muddy the waters for Glasgow’s bid”.
And according to the Sunday Herald an insider working on Glasgow’s bid said Logan’s comments were “desperate”, while the Canadian bid was “ill-prepared”. He said Halifax had poor facilities and would struggle to meet the high standards set in Melbourne last month.
To continue the war of words another Glasgow bid source said it was “hypocritical” to mention the games in London when Vancouver was hosting the 2010 Winter Games. He also said Logan omitted mentioning that Edmonton staged the 1978 Commonwealth Games two years after Montreal hosted the Olympics.
The Sunday Herald reports it understands the Canadian team changed its presentation in Melbourne last month after watching Glasgow’s pitch.
Then Logan and his team “irked” the Scottish delegation by reminding the audience of the heavy policing presence at last year’s G8 economics summit at Gleneagles Scotland.
A spokesman for Glasgow 2014 told the newspaper “this is not a question of which country is hosting what event in the future. If it were, then the fact that Canada will host the Winter Olympics in Vancouver in 2010 would also be a factor. The host for the 2014 Games will be based on who has the best bid.
“Glasgow is a world city with outstanding facilities, amazing people and a modern infrastructure that is improving all the time. We are confident that the voters will decide that bringing the Friendly Games to the Friendly City is the right choice for 2014”.
