An Evaluation of Legacy from the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games: Post Games Report
This report is the first post games legacy evaluation report for the XX Commonwealth Games it aims to generate learning for ourselves, future bidders and hosts, and to add to the international literature
1. Introduction
Background
1.1 The XX Commonwealth Games was held in Glasgow between the 23 July and 3 August 2014. It was the largest multi-sport and cultural event ever held in Scotland.
1.2 Approximately 7,000 athletes and team officials, representing 71 nations and territories from across the Commonwealth, took part in the Games. The sporting competition covered 17 sports across 261 medal events. This included 22 medal events across five para-sports - the largest integrated para-sport programme of any Commonwealth Games to date.
1.3 Glasgow won the bid to host the XX Commonwealth Games in 2007. A partnership of Scottish Government (SG), Glasgow City Council (GCC), Commonwealth Games Scotland (CGS) and the Glasgow 2014 Organising Committee (Glasgow 2014 Ltd) led the delivery of the Games.
1.4 The Games were widely considered successfully delivered. The Commonwealth Games Federation chief executive described Glasgow 2014 as “the standout Games in the history of the movement”.
1.5 The Games were delivered within a budget of £543 million. The Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council provided £425 million towards the overall cost of the Games. The remaining costs were met by £118 million income from ticket sales, sponsorship and other commercial sources.
1.6 Ticket sales exceeded initial targets. Approximately 1.3 million tickets were sold, representing 98% of all tickets available for sale. Two-thirds of tickets were priced at £25 or under. Half price concession tickets were available for all sessions for those aged under 16 and over 60. There were a number of un-ticketed events including: Marathon, Cycling: Road (Road Race) and Cycling: Road (Time Trial) and Triathlon.
1.7 Over 50,000 people from Scotland and beyond applied to become one of up to 12,500 Games Time Volunteers – known as Clyde-siders. This included 160 dedicated Accessibility Volunteers to ensure a positive Games experience for those who required assistance or support. A further 300 pre Games Frontrunner Volunteers, 1,200 Host City Volunteers and 3,000 volunteers for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies were recruited[1].
Legacy
1.8 Since the bidding phase, partners have emphasised their desire to leverage the best possible social and economic benefit from the Games. These benefits are often collectively described as ‘legacy’. They include both short term and longer term benefits.
1.9 Partners planned early for legacy. In 2009, the Scottish Government and Glasgow City Council (GCC) published legacy plans setting out the outcomes partners hoped to contribute to through the Games and associated legacy programmes.
1.10 At a national level, 59 legacy programmes and over 80 supporting legacy projects were developed under four broad themes: Flourishing, Active, Connected and Sustainable. The legacy programmes include both the scaling up and/or expansion of existing policies and programmes, alongside some new programmes specifically developed and launched for the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Some policy areas in Scotland have used the Games as a catalyst or mobiliser for policy aims that were being pursued.
1.11 At a city level, over 80 GCC led legacy programmes and 300 community-led legacy projects have been developed under six broad themes: Prosperous, Active, Inclusive, Accessible, Green and International.
1.12 From the outset there has been an explicit aim to ensure Games legacy has a national reach, and that all of Scotland benefits. A national network was established by SOLACE[2], bringing together all of Scotland’s 32 Local Authorities. This Local Authority Legacy Lead Network played a vital role, not only in cascading the opportunities that were available locally from national programmes, but also in developing their own local legacy which aligned with local priorities and aspirations. Given the success of the network it is continuing in the post-Games context and is prioritising the legacy areas for further action.
1.13 Glasgow 2014 Ltd had a Legacy Team embedded in its structure, a first for a Commonwealth Games. Their role has been to foster a legacy consciousness in the organisation and to work with partners to take forward legacy objectives.
1.14 The legacy impacts evaluated in the following chapters, therefore, stem from four things: the Games themselves and the associated cultural programme; dedicated legacy programmes designed to run alongside the Games (before and afterwards); a regeneration programme into which the Games were embedded and partnership arrangements put into place to manage the process.
Evaluation
1.15 The Scottish Government, Glasgow City Council and partners are committed to a transparent and long term evaluation of legacy to generate learning for Parliament, Games partners, future bidders and hosts, and to add significantly to the evidence base internationally on major sporting events and legacy. Legacy evaluation and research findings have already been extensively used by SG and partners for legacy planning.
1.16 A Games Legacy Evaluation Working Group (GLEWG) was established in January 2012 to design and deliver the evaluation[3]. GLEWG continues to oversee the evaluation, including the production of this Post Games Report.
1.17 The evaluation is deliberately long term, multi-method and designed to assess legacy impacts at three levels: Scotland, Glasgow and the East End of Glasgow. This report is the third in a planned series of five legacy evaluation reports.
Report 1 - Questions, Methods and Baseline (2012)
Report 2 - Pre-Games Report (2014)
Report 3 - Post-Games Report (this report) (2015)
Report 4 - Interim Evaluation (2017 tbc)
Report 5 - Final Report (2019 tbc)
1.18 This report builds on the previous reports by setting out an early assessment of emerging evidence that helps answer the six research questions agreed by GLEWG[4]:
What effect have the Games had on the economy, businesses, employment, training and volunteering?
What effect have the Games had on infrastructure, sports participation and physical activity?
What effect have the Games had on civic pride and reputation?
What effect have the Games had on the cultural sector and cultural engagement?
What effect have the Games had on the lives of the community in the area of Glasgow’s East End most directly affected?
Is there a partnership legacy from the Games?
1.19 The report draws throughout on an updated review of evidence for legacy from major sporting events[5], analyses the wider social and economic context for legacy through the updated indicator set[6] and draws on a wide range of primary legacy evaluation evidence to produce an initial assessment of emerging legacy.
1.20 The remainder of this report is structured around the research questions.
Chapter 5 Civic Pride and Reputation Legacy
Chapter 8 Organisational Legacy
1.21 The structure of each chapter mirrors that of the chapters in the Pre Games Report. The main points from the wider evidence base are presented, before a brief description of the key interventions in terms of legacy programmes at a national and city level.[7] Next, the main part of each chapter distils the available evidence to date on the effect of the Games and legacy programmes on outcomes.
Contact
Email: Niamh O’Connor
There is a problem
Thanks for your feedback