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Council makes bid for International Games |
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Thursday, 25 October 2007 |
Lanarkshire has announced details of its ambitious multi-million pound bid to bring the International Children's Games to Scotland for the first time in 2011.
To succeed it will have to fight off strong competition from Singapore
and Daegu in South Korea, who also want to host the world’s largest
youth sporting event in four years time.
Dubbed 'the Mini Olympics', and recognised by the International Olympic
Committee, it would be a major boost for Lanarkshire to be awarded the
Games, which are being hosted by San Francisco next July, Athens the
following year and Manama in Bahrain in 2010.
Key officials from the Games committee have just finished a six-day
fact-finding mission touring the area’s sports and cultural facilities,
but the verdict on 2011 won't be announced until next year’s Games in
San Francisco.
The team behind the bid comprises Lanarkshire's two local councils and
civic pride group New Lanarkshire Limited. South Lanarkshire council
leader Eddie McAvoy said that the strength of the two local authorities
working in tandem had given the chances of the Games coming to
Lanarkshire a massive boost, with an initial agreement to underwrite
the event to the tune of £1 million each.
"It’s a move that clearly acknowledges the positive impact the event
would deliver to Lanarkshire both in terms of international kudos and
tangible economic benefits," he said.
Lanarkshire’s commitment has also seen First Minister Alex Salmond throwing the Scottish Government’s weight behind the bid.
Communities and Sports Minister Stewart Maxwell met the Games
delegation and told them: "Alex Salmond, the First Minister has asked
me to [declare] his support for Lanarkshire’s bid to host the Games in
2011.
"We are very keen as a new Government that Scotland punches above its
weight in terms of international competition and the fact that this bid
is up and running shows that Lanarkshire is as enthusiastic as we are
to bring prestigious events like this to Scotland.
"We are right behind the [Lanarkshire] bid."
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