Staging of Renowned Event Boosts Glasgow’s 2018 Youth Olympic Games Bid

Glasgow’s Bid to host the 2018 Youth Olympic Games has been enhanced after the city won the right to host the world renowned Turner Prize in 2015 in recognition of its global cultural status.

The prestigious arts prize will be held at the Tramway arts venue after Glasgow saw off rival bids from across the UK. This will be first time the Turner Prize will be held in Scotland after organisers recently decided to hold the event outside London every second year.

Due to its position as one of the most vibrant and internationally recognised contemporary arts spaces in Europe, Tramway has been chosen by the 2018 Bid Team as a venue for the 2018 Culture and Education Programme (CEP), which runs alongside the sporting events at the Youth Olympic Games.

The venue would host artistic workshops for both the young athletes and local young people as part of Glasgow’s plans to use its international cultural status to promote the Olympic Values through a CEP with global reach.

Over the past 20 years Glasgow has gained international recognition as a centre of excellence for visual arts, standing only second to London and Berlin on the world stage with three of the last four winners of the Turner Prize either coming from the city or having trained at the world-famous Glasgow School of Art.

The venue is also an integral part of the community with a wide range of outreach projects for young people and families on offer designed to increase their interest and participation in contemporary arts and fulfil Glasgow’s commitment to using culture and sport to transform the lives of its young people and the wider economy.

Glasgow 2018 Bid Director, Paul Bush, said: “Glasgow now enjoys an international cultural reputation and we are delighted that the hard work of the city and all its partners to achieve this status has been rewarded with the announcement it is to host this prestigious arts prize in 2015.

“This is a boost to our Bid to host the Youth Olympic Games in 2018. We believe we can use the power of Glasgow’s cultural status and the city’s proven commitment to inspiring and mobilising communities, especially young people, through the arts to partner with the Olympic Movement to promote its values across the globe.

“Coupled with the fact the Tramway and several of our other world-class cultural venues have been chosen to deliver an exemplary Culture and Education Programme, we believe we can inspire young people to be champions in their lives through the power of sport, education and culture.”