Date :
10/03/2014
Glasgow’s City Halls and Old Fruitmarket are to be transformed into a hub to celebrate Scotland’s sporting success, culture and business potential during the Commonwealth Games.
The hub will host a range of events to capitalise on the Games and exploit the international and domestic business opportunities presented by Scotland hosting the Games.
The ‘House’ concept is a major part of every Commonwealth Games. There have been similar Scotland bases across the world, including in Delhi in 2010, and are designed to create the best welcome ever for athletes and their families, the public and key business people as well as celebrate the success of Team Scotland medal winners.
Scotland House will be open from July 21 to August 3 and is a partnership between Commonwealth Games Scotland, the Scottish Government, sportscotland, Glasgow City Council, VisitScotland, Scottish Enterprise and Creative Scotland - with each partner contributing equally to the approx. £500,000 budget. Scotland House will also include a private space for Team Scotland athletes and their families to meet and for post competition media activity.
Next door, the Fruitmarket will be operated by Festival 2014 with an exciting programme of public events planned. Team Scotland events such as the Flag Bearer Ceremony, Queen’s Baton Relay, medallists’ nights and the Team Scotland closing celebration are already planned, while a range of business events, meetings and other activity will also be held there to ensure that business opportunities are maximised.
The Scotland House business programme is designed to connect companies across Scotland with new international market opportunities in commonwealth countries. A series of targeted events are planned to showcase Scotland and Glasgow’s strengths and expertise across a range of sectors. These national sectors include life sciences, food and drink, textiles, low carbon industries, engineering, design and manufacturing, financial and business services as well as tourism and events, and higher and further education.
Partners including Scottish Enterprise, VisitScotland, EventScotland, Glasgow City Council, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau will host a range of business to business events during Games time.