Sports Minister Tracey Crouch supports British Gymnasts' Rio Push
UK Sport invest £1 million of public money to help Glasgow stage World Championships - forecast to deliver £5 million for the local economy
UK Sports Minister Tracey Crouch is to visit Glasgow’s Hydro Arena to see the legacy from the 2014 Commonwealth Games as the city stages the World Gymnastics Championships.
The event - the second most prestigious event in the sport after the Olympic Games - is being supported with over £1 million of public funding from UK Sport, backed by the National Lottery and UK Government investment.
Glasgow, as a world-class sports city, is welcoming over 590 athletes from almost 90 countries with over 50,000 tickets sold for the event - the largest ever for a gymnastics event in the UK.
The World Gymnastics Championships is a key qualification event for Rio 2016. The top eight teams who qualify for the final of the Championships will secure their place for the team competition at the 2016 Olympic Games.
Minister for Sport Tracey Crouch said:
Hosting the World Gymnastic Championships is another coup for Scotland and a real legacy from last year’s Commonwealth Games. The British gymnasts will get an incredible reception from the fans in the Hydro Arena and ticket sales have been really strong. I am delighted that we are supporting the event, through UK Sport, that will further strengthen Britain’s reputation for staging major events but also provide a boost to the economy in Scotland.
Liz Nicholl, Chief Executive of UK Sport, said:
Bringing world class events to Scotland is a key part of our commitment to building a strong legacy from the success of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Not only does the World Gymnastics Championships make use of one of Scotland’s world-class venues, it also gives thousands of people the opportunity to witness outstanding sport first hand and delivers significant economic impact for Scotland.
There’s an important performance benefit too as we know our talented gymnasts will be inspired by the passionate home crowd as they strive to qualify for Rio 2016.
Staging this prestigious event would not have been possible without the wonderful support of The National Lottery and key partners including EventScotland, Glasgow City Council and British Gymnastics.
Team GB gymnast, Olympic and Commonwealth Games medallist Dan Purvis said:
The whole British team are excited and ready to compete in Glasgow. Having the World Championships on home soil is a massive boost for us.
The home crowd make a huge difference and definitely add that extra percentage of motivation and inspire us to excel. Competing at London 2012 and at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last year proved how all our gymnasts rise to the occasion with the massive support from the British crowd and I’m sure that will be the case again as we aim for Olympic qualification at these vital World Championships.
Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said:
Scotland is now well established as one of the world’s elite event-hosting nations and the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships in Glasgow will further contribute to its reputation as the perfect stage for events. Following a remarkable 2014, during which the nation was the focus of the sporting world as host of the Commonwealth Games and 2014 Ryder Cup, Scotland now has the capacity, capability, credibility and confidence to welcome sport’s biggest occasions.
We are highly excited about the prospect of visions of The SSE Hydro and Glasgow being beamed around the world during this critical Rio 2016 Olympics qualifying event, as well as the associated economic benefits the 2015 World Gymnastics Championship will bring to Scotland as a whole.
The World Gymnastics Championships is one of 16 major sporting events being held in Scotland between 2013 and 2019, backed by UK Sport funding. The body is investing £3.4 million of National Lottery and UK government funds into the events that are expected to deliver at least £24 million to Scotland’s economy.
Forthcoming events in Scotland include the Cycling Track World Cup in Glasgow in 2016 and the World Badminton Championships in the city in 2017.
Notes to Editors
The World Gymnastics Championships was secured and hosted through strong partnership working involving UK Sport, British Gymnastics, EventScotland, the City of Glasgow and the Scottish Government.
UK Sport is investing over £345 million of public funding (National Lottery and exchequer) to support British athletes to prepare for the Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
For further information please contact:
Department for Culture, Media and Sport:
020 7211 6971