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One year on from Commonwealth Games.

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games brought social, cultural and economic benefits to the whole of Scotland, the event’s official evaluation report has shown.

The Post-Games Report, published today, exactly one year since the opening ceremony, found that over the eight years from winning the bid to host the event, the Games contributed more than £740 million gross to Scotland’s economy including £390 million for Glasgow’s economy, and supported on average 2,100 jobs each year from 2007 and 2014, including on average 1,200 in Glasgow.

The report, which looks at the overall legacy of the Games, finds that:

• the Games helped ensure a labour market boost among those who would benefit most, as proposed in the legacy plans, with over 11,000 young people across Scotland, around 6,000 from Glasgow, benefitting from the range of national and local employability programmes implemented in association with the Games
• the Glasgow 2014 Culture Programme attracted a mass audience of 2.1 million attendances and 600,000 participants, increasing the size and reach of the Games events
• they attracted around 690,000 unique visitors
• spending by those visitors contributed, in net terms, around £73 million to the economy in 2014.

The report also found the Games brought significant investment in regeneration, particularly in the East End of Glasgow, Rutherglen and South Lanarkshire, with land remediation, transport infrastructure, and sports facilities like the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, Emirates Arena and Tollcross International Swimming Centre, all of which are now being used by the public.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon welcomed the report ahead of a Games anniversary visit to Crownpoint Sports Complex in East End of Glasgow where she helped Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council mark the opening of the athletics track - moved from Hampden Park when it hosted the showpiece athletics events last summer.

The First Minister said:

“The 2014 Commonwealth Games was an unforgettable event and a resounding sporting success. Widely regarded as the best Games in their history, it was a chance for Glasgow and Scotland to show the world the very best that we have to offer.

“But as this evaluation report also shows, the Games were about far more than two weeks of great sport. The economic, cultural and regeneration benefits have been significant.

“More than 11,000 young people across Scotland have benefitted from Games related employability programmes. In excess of 20,000 opportunities to take part through volunteering were created – at the Games themselves, the Ceremonies, in Glasgow City at Games Time and through the Glasgow 2014 Cultural Programme. One in ten East End households in the GoWell East study reported employment gains from the Games.

“Along with our partners, we’ve always been determined to ensure that there is a lasting legacy to the Games that starts in the East End of Glasgow and stretches well beyond. We now have 60 national legacy programmes in place, with the latest, a leadership programme for young people called 33Sixty, being announced today.

“Through these schemes we are funding, encouraging and promoting programmes large and small in communities right around the country, and ensuring that the benefits of the Games will be felt for many years to come.”

Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Gordon Matheson, said:

“There is no doubt that 2014 was the biggest year Glasgow has ever had. Both retrospectively and looking forward, we are seeing the legacy of the Games in jobs, economic development and interest in sport, as this report shows.

“In addition further economic impact will accrue from the on-going positive impact on the economy that the new venues and our experience of delivering mega events will bring as we continue to attract other major sporting events such as European Sport Championships and cultural events due to our status as a successful host city.

“Glasgow’s economy saw a £390million boost between 2007 and 2014 which helped us through what was a particularly challenging time in the global economy. Glasgow based firms certainly reaped the rewards by winning £423million of Games contracts.

“The £50m Glasgow Guarantee employment initiative has also helped around 6,000 young Glaswegians aged 16-24 years, veterans, over 50s, and graduates into employment, apprenticeships or training and we have recently expanded the scheme even further.

“Perhaps one the most visible examples of how Glasgow has benefited from the Games is one of the city’s newest neighbourhoods – the Athletes’ Village site in Dalmarnock. With housing, a care home, community hub and nursery and a new school planned, not to mention improved transport links and recreational facilities.

“However, the legacy of the Games is not just about the East End, and indeed not just about one year on. We have continued the momentum that the Games started and have legacy plans in place until at least 2019."

Notes To Editors

Copies of the report co-produced by the Scottish Government and the Games Legacy Evaluation Working Group (GLEWG) are available on request. GLEWG comprises analytical representatives from Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council, Scottish Enterprise, Visit Scotland, sportscotland, Creative Scotland, Education Scotland, Skills Development Scotland, Volunteer Scotland, NHS Health Scotland and the Glasgow Research Partnership.

The £740 million contribution to Scotland’s economy from the Games is made up of three elements:

• The Games related capital programme (sports venues and the Athletes’ Village) contributed £320 million gross to Scotland’s economy over the six years to 2014.

• The activities of the Games organisers (Glasgow 2014 Ltd) to deliver the Games contributed £300 million gross to Scotland’s economy over the eight years to 2014.

• The economic impact of spending by Games visitors contributed £120 million gross to Scotland’s economy in 2014.

Legacy website link

Glasgow’s legacy website: https://www.glasgow.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2902

East End residents were interviewed as part of the GoWell East research study on the impact of the Games and wider regeneration activities on the communities in the East End of Glasgow. http://www.gowellonline.com/goeast