Glasgow Reveals Bid Plans for 2018 Youth Olympic Games

Glasgow revealed plans for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games at the Tollcross venue, attended by Sport Minister Shona Robison and young athletes from the City of Glasgow Swim Team.

According to the bid document, which has been submitted to the International Olympic Committee (IOC), athletic events would be held at Scotstoun Stadium while diving and swimming would be staged at Tollcross International Aquatics Centre, with a purpose-built Athletes’ Village at Sighthill, north of the City.

It’s been revealed that 15 of the 17 sites proposed for the 2018 Youth Games would be completed before the end of 2013, and the majority of these venues would be no more than 20 minutes travel time from the Youth Olympic Village in Sighthill.

Robison said at the event: “Warmth and hospitality alongside an excellent reputation for hosting world-glass sport events makes Glasgow, and Scotland, the perfect stage for the Youth Olympic Games in 2018.

“Young athletes competing at the top of their field rightly expect the very best facilities and support services.

“Building on the legacy of the London 2012 Olympics and the forthcoming 2014 Commonwealth Games, Scotland stands ready to be an exciting, dynamic host of the Youth Olympic Games.”

Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the British Olympic Association and the London 2012 Organising Committee is supporting Glasgow’s bid. He said: “The Youth Olympic Games is a fresh, exciting young product. By entrusting it to Glasgow 2018, the Olympic family will have a historic opportunity to draw on the unprecedented pool of sophisticated event-hosting expertise and global youth engagement programs in the UK right now.

“We delivered our promises and we achieved our goals at London 2012, and we’re ready to continue that partnership with the Olympic family in Glasgow in 2018, another sports city in our sporting nation.”

The IOC is to announce the host city for the 2018 Youth Games in July 2013, following a short-listing process in February.