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By Morven MacNeil, GO Features Editor

Delivering the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games will require the procurement of goods, works and services of all types and values from an enormous range of companies.

In November 2007, Glasgow and Scotland won the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games, the culmination of more than three years of detailed planning. The bid attracted cross-party political support, promoted Scotland to the Commonwealth and brought in the backing of more than 1.75 million individuals and organisations.

The organising company, Glasgow 2014 Ltd, is now delivering what should be an amazing experience for athletes, officials, supporters and spectators. For 11 days in the summer of 2014, athletes representing 71 countries will compete in 17 sports at world-class venues – the largest multisports event that Scotland has ever hosted.

The economic costs and benefits of hosting the Commonwealth Games were extensively weighed up prior to bidding. Public investment in the 2014 Games is

£298 million, 80 per cent coming from the Scottish Government and the rest from Glasgow City Council. It is estimated the Games will create 1000 jobs in Glasgow and a total of 1200 throughout Scotland.

The Commonwealth Games are coming to Glasgow at a time when extensive urban and social regeneration is taking place in many parts of the city. The Athletes Village will be at the heart of the development on the banks of the Clyde. The housing which will be used by the athletes for the Games will be handed back, already sold to new owners or reserved for tenants. The team behind the 2014 bid were clear from the outset of the need to share the Games’ economic and legacy benefits throughout Scotland, wherever possible. For example, teams coming to the Games will need training facilities in the weeks and months before the event so they can acclimatise.

Scotland has an excellent range of venues on offer; four venues in Glasgow itself have been included in the London 2012 pre-Games Training Camp Guide. Teams will also require hotels and lodging, sports medicine facilities, transport, catering and entertainment, all of which will generate economic benefit. With so many of the required facilities already in place, the opportunity is there to create lasting benefits.

The 2014 Games have the potential to bring massive social change to Glasgow. The Games will require 15,000 volunteers, all of them needing the excellent interpersonal skills required to be able to give ready assistance to the tens of thousands competing or attending, help with tickets, and assist with first aid and transport. Encouraging people to improve their skills and education by volunteering could be seen as a pathway to learning and employment. The massive regeneration of the east end of Glasgow, where the Athletes Village is being constructed, will also spark investment and new economic activity in the form of small businesses and community enterprises.

In the run-up to the Games, during the Games themselves and indeed after the event, there will be a whole raft of service contract opportunities from hospitality and transport to cleaning and catering, to name but a few.

To assist businesses in identifying opportunities, the Commonwealth Games Business Portal – a dedicated resource for Games-related procurement opportunities – was launched in October 2009. The Portal brings together contractors and suppliers and provides businesses of all sizes with the opportunity to find out about and compete for contracts. Companies can view and register expressions of interest regarding future Commonwealth Games opportunities through the Portal.

The Commonwealth Games will not solve all the social and economic challenges that face Glasgow and Scotland, but as a key part of the process of change, the Games will play a significant role in the lead-up to 2014 and in the years beyond. The long-term effects of a well-organised event in Glasgow for the city itself, and for the whole of Scotland, could be immense.

Further information

For further information, please visit: www.glasgow2014.com