Courtesy: LEN Media
Today marks 100 days to go until sporting history is made through Glasgow and Berlin’s co-hosting of the first-ever combined European Championships.
One million residents, visitors, spectators and media will be part of the sporting and cultural experience of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships taking place from 2 to 12 August this summer. More than 3,200 athletes from 52 nations will travel to Scotland as part of an overall delegation of 8,500 including media and officials. Glasgow will host six sports – Aquatics, Cycling, Golf, Gymnastics, Rowing and Triathlon – with Berlin hosting Athletics.
The German capital will see 1,500 athletes compete at its European Championships taking place from the 7th to the 12th August, with their 100 days to go celebrations this coming Sunday, 29 April.
As well as the boost to visitor numbers, coverage of the sporting action in 12 iconic venues in Scotland will be broadcast to a potential TV audience of up to 1.03 billion. Venues will include Gymnastics at the SSE Hydro, the third busiest venue in the world, Golf at the famous Jack Nicklaus-designed Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course and Diving at Edinburgh’s Commonwealth Pool.
TV viewers across the continent will get the chance to see Scotland’s beautiful scenery through coverage of the Road Race and Time Trial events and Open Water Swimming at Loch Lomond and The Trossachs, while local residents and communities can watch from their doorsteps, for free.
Festival 2018 will offer around 100 unmissable events as part of a world-class arts and culture programme being staged in Glasgow’s George Square, Merchant City, Perth, Stirling, East Dunbartonshire and Edinburgh.
GO LIVE! at The Green will offer young people, families and communities have-a-go’ sporting and healthy living activities alongside innovative arts, family entertainment and the best in Scottish food and drink, to create a vibrant, carnival atmosphere in the city.
Tourism Secretary Fiona Hyslop said: “The European Championships will showcase all that Scotland has to offer to every visitor and spectator, both in Glasgow as the Host City and at the other venues across the country. The combined offer of elite sport and the thriving cultural programme and will make sure that we put on a show to remember further enhancing Scotland’s reputation as The Perfect Stage for major events.”
Depute Leader of Glasgow City Council, Cllr David McDonald said: “The Glasgow 2018 European Championships will be at the very heart of a bumper summer of culture and sport in our city – and will boost the 2.3 million tourists that already choose to explore Glasgow each year.
“This August, visitors from all over Europe will experience our famous warm welcome and find out why people make Glasgow a world-leading destination and unbeatable host for major international events. Glasgow 2018 will further strengthen Glasgow’s reputation as one of the world’s top five Ultimate Sports Cities, with sport contributing £370million to the local economy on an annual basis.”
Berlin 2018 CEO Frank Kowalski said: “Glasgow has a huge experience in staging world-class events including the Commonwealth Games in 2014. We are convinced that hosting six out of seven sports at the inaugural European Championships in Glasgow will be a tremendous success and enhance all individual Championships. Athletes, fans and the media will profit from this multi-sport event and the great experience of staging the event in Scotland and Germany.
“We wish Glasgow 2018 all the best for the last 100 days to go and of course for the staging of this event from 2 to 12 August 2018.”
Tickets for the Glasgow 2018 European Championships are on sale now at www.glasgow2018.com/tickets . Berlin 2018 tickets are on sale now here.
Glasgow 2018 Fast Facts
1. The 2018 European Championships will be staged by the European Federations and the Host Cities of Glasgow and Berlin.
2. The Glasgow 2018 event will be held between 2nd and 12th August and the European Athletics Championships will be between 7th and 12th August in Berlin. Further information is available at www.glasgow2018.com and www .berlin2018.info.
3. The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), the umbrella body for Europe free-to-air channels, will be the broadcast partner for the Championships. There is a potential television audience of around 1.03 billion for the event with many more viewers across multiple digital platforms.
4. Around 3,000 athletes will travel to Scotland as part of a total delegation of around 8,500 including officials, media and others. A further 1,500 athletes will compete in Berlin.
5. Berlin’s Olympic Stadium will be the venue for the European Athletics Championships with the road races and race walking events held throughout the city.
6. The European Aquatics Championships will take place at Glasgow’s Tollcross International Swimming Centre, with Diving taking place at Edinburgh’s Royal Commonwealth Pool, Open Water Swimming being staged at Loch Lomond and Synchronised Swimming at Scotstoun Sports Campus.
7. Four European Cycling Championships will be staged in Glasgow and its metropolitan area. Track, Road, Mountain Bike and BMX will attract 650 of Europe’s top names to the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome, the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails, the streets of Glasgow and the metropolitan area and a new world championship and Olympic standard BMX track to be built in the Knightswood area of the city.
8. The European Golf Team Championships will take place at the Gleneagles PGA Centenary Course in Perth & Kinross. There will be three European Team Golf Championships: Men’s Team Championship, Women’s Team Championship and Mixed Team Championship.
9. The European Artistic Gymnastics Men’s and Women’s Championships will be staged at The SSE Hydro, the venue for the 2015 FIG World Gymnastics Championships.
10. The European Championships for both Rowing and Triathlon will both be staged at Strathclyde Country Park in North Lanarkshire.
11. The Year of Young People 2018 will be the next of the Scottish Government’s series of themed years, following the Year of History, Heritage and Archaeology 2017. The Year of Young People (YOYP) will inspire Scotland through its young people aged 8 to 26, celebrating their achievements, valuing their contributions to communities and creating new opportunities for them to shine locally, nationally and globally. Further information on what’s happening and how people can get involved can be found on the new website yoyp2018.scot or @YOYP2018 on Twitter.
12. Glasgow 2018’s official partner level sponsors are Glasgow City Council and Scottish Government. For more information on Glasgow 2018’s full sponsor family, please visit www.glasgow2018.com/cham pionships/about-european-champ ionships/official-sponsors.