It was the day all of Scotland rejoiced. We still remember with pride that momentous decision. The date: 9 November 2007. The place was Colombo in Sri Lanka where the Commonwealth Games Federation was holding its General Assembly.
Just after 6pm local time, delegates from all 71 countries and territories of the Commonwealth Games Federation voted on whether Scotland or Nigeria would host the Games in 2014. There was great tension but the teams made up of officials from Glasgow City Council, the Scottish Government, Commonwealth Games Scotland and former Commonwealth Games athletes worked together in Sri Lanka to make sure that Scotland’s bid was top notch.
Back home in Glasgow, thousands awaited the decision in Glasgow’s Old Fruitmarket arena and there were ecstatic scenes when the Commonwealth Games Federation’s President officially announced that Glasgow was the victor. It was the end of the beginning.
Before Sri Lanka, Scotland had pulled out the stops to ensure that it gained the vital votes. One of the first moves was pledges of support from the UK’s Sports Ministers, representing England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Then in 15 November 2005, Jack McConnell signed the document to be lodged with the Commonwealth Games Federation which officially designated Glasgow as Scotland’s candidate city.
There were initial pitches to the Commonwealth Games Federation at the Melbourne Games. During this ten-minute presentation, the First Minister, the Leader of Glasgow City Council and Louise Martin, Chair of the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland, set out the main elements of the bid. The bid team then visited as many as possible of the 71 countries that take part in the Games. The first stop was Jamaica, when the team were looked after by the President of the Commonwealth Games Federation, Mike Fennell.
In September 2006 the Glasgow 2014 Athletes’ Commission was created making the bid the most athlete-centred ever with Tommy Yule as its chairman. The following month the Commonwealth Games Federation European Group spent three days in Glasgow, looking at the bid and gaining a sense of Glasgow’s vision. Across Scotland, the public support was overwhelming – and this was an important factor in the bid’s success. By December 2006, there were more than 1.5 million pledges of support. The public backing for the Games was nothing short of extraordinary. All of Scotland’s political parties also came out strongly in favour of the Games.
The bid team’s work intensified into 2007 and the 17 sports that had made it onto the Glasgow 2014 sports programme were announced in January. Throughout the lobbying process, the bid team from Glasgow visited 67 countries, from Montserrat to Vanuatu. It was a mammoth task, but well worth it. By May 2007, the Candidate City File was finally finished and submitted. After all this hard work and preparation, it was a case of waiting for each member to make up his or her mind. Fortunately, in Sri Lanka, they chose Glasgow.