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The 2014 Commonwealth Games cost the public sector £37.2 million less than budgeted.

The project had strong leadership and organisations worked well together. Clear legacy plans are in place and the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council now need to build on these to ensure long-term benefits are achieved.

A report published today for the Auditor General and Accounts Commission says early evidence shows the Glasgow event compared favourably to previous games. Around 1.2 million tickets were sold, over 4,800 athletes took part and £118 million was raised from ticket sales, sponsorship and other private funding.

The Organising Committee and Police Scotland had good financial control over their budgets. Public funding for the Games totalled £424.5 million, £37.2 million less than expected. The use of income from sources such as ticket sales and sponsorship brought the total cost of the Games to £543 million, around £32 million less than the agreed budget of £575 million in November 2013.

Accounts Commission Chair Douglas Sinclair said: "The Games have been widely seen as a success, and our report adds to this positive picture. Strong controls and good planning resulted in a £37.2 million underspend of public money, money which will now be returned to the public sector. The partner organisations and businesses worked very well together to make the Games a great success. As this is a really strong example of successful partnership working it's really important for learning from this project to be shared within the public sector, to help future work."

Auditor General Caroline Gardner said: "Working to ensure a legacy has been part and parcel of planning for the Games, and we've seen a good start on this. With ongoing pressures in public sector budgets it is all the more important for the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council to ensure the planned legacy benefits are achieved.

They need to continue to evaluate the impact to ensure the Games achieves their longer-term aims such as a healthier population and better life chances for people living in the East End of Glasgow."

For further information contact Anne McCubbin Tel: 0131 625 1652 amccubbin@auditscotland.gov.uk Tel: 0131 625 1652 or Chris Holme Tel: 0131 625 1653 cholme@auditscotland.gov.uk

Notes to editors

1. The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council provided a total of £424.5 million in funding towards the cost of the Games. This was £37.2 million less than anticipated. Total public funding accounted for 78 per cent of Games spending.

2. The total cost of the Games was £543 million. This was £32 million less than the budget of £575 million agreed in November 2013. The remaining costs were met from around £118 million of income from ticket sales, sponsorship and other private sources such as broadcasting.

3. We recognise there may be further costs and savings incurred as a result of the dissolution process for Glasgow 2014 Ltd (the Organising Committee) due for completion in Spring 2015.

4. This is Audit Scotland's third report on the Games. Our previous reports can be obtained from our website www.audit-scotland.gov.uk

5. Audit Scotland has prepared this report for the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission for Scotland. All Audit Scotland reports published since 2000 are available at www.auditscotland.gov.uk.

The Auditor General appoints auditors to Scotland’s central government and NHS bodies; examines how public bodies spend public money; helps them to manage their finances to the highest standards; and checks whether they achieve value for money. The Auditor General is independent and is not subject to the control of the Scottish Government or the Scottish Parliament .

The Accounts Commission is the public spending watchdog for local government. It holds councils and various joint boards and committees in Scotland to account and help them improve. It operates impartially and independently of councils and of the Scottish Government, and meets and reports in public .

Audit Scotland is a statutory body set up in April 2000, under the Public Finance and Accountability (Scotland) Act, 2000. It provides services to the Auditor General for Scotland and the Accounts Commission for Scotland.