Great Scots! It's 2 Years to Glasgow

(ATR) Glasgow 2014 CEO David Grevemberg tells Around the Rings the U.K.’s next major event after the Paralympics comes at a "great crossroads moment" for the Commonwealth Games.

"We are set not to build a landing strip but a launch pad," he explains in an exclusive interview with ATR’s own Matthew Grayson.

ATR: As you watched the London Olympics, was there a part of you that was at all envious, wishing that your Commonwealth Games could be bigger and more expensive than Glasgow 2014 will be?

DG: London's a metropolis, and the running and the size of its venues and so forth is very different than Glasgow. The Olympics are also different than the Commonwealth Games as they are different from the Paralympics.

Keeping that in mind, I think there’s a lot of lessons learned, both from the challenges but also certainly from the successes as well that, as the next major event after the Paralympics close in September, we can really capitalize on and really take full advantage of.

I wouldn’t signify it as an envious feeling but as a real appreciation for what London 2012 and its partners have done.

The opportunity for us to be behind the scenes in a number of fronts on the command and control side and on the general organization and venue management side has been fantastic.

ATR: How much did Glasgow ultimately get from Delhi in terms of knowledge transfer?

DG: A ton. You learn from Delhi the strengths of the Movement, the strengths of the nations and the partners in terms of the pre-planning, but Delhi is very different than Glasgow. The ambitions that the Delhi organizing committee had around the Games were very different than the ambitions that Glasgow set for themselves, so there are distinct differences as well.

I think overall, we are very much at that great crossroads moment at which we are set not to build a landing strip but a launch pad for which the Commonwealth Games can really take off from. [We’re] looking at how to get athlete attraction and engage people, the importance of getting venues ready to go on time and the importance of strong systems of accountability and control. All of those elements have been absolutely great learning from a number of these major events.

ATR: With two years to go until Glasgow 2014, what's your biggest focus now? What's your biggest worry?

DG: We've made really good strides in the past couple of months to really establish our commercial program and get good footing on that and good traction, and that's something we are very confident on but not complacent by any means.

We've been moving for some time from the strategic planning side. Now we’re getting to the granular venue-by-venue planning. We've been doing for a couple of months now. It’s just making sure that we get that detailed planning done with enough time to really scope and scale the project that accurately, so that we’re able to move in to our big procurements next year with real confidence.

ATR: How many staff does Glasgow 2014 have now, and how will that ramp up as the Games approach?

DG: We have about 170 staff across about 50+ functional areas within the organizing committee. We have, of course, a number of Games partners with part-time or full-time dedicated staff working towards the success of the Games as well.

That includes the Strathclyde police and Scottish government and Glasgow city council as well, so we've got a really good partnership force. As Glasgow 2014, we'll ramp up to a little over 1,000 staff for the Games, and that ramp-up really starts after London 2012.

ATR: On the sponsorship front, you noted the past couple of months being key. In terms of figures, where are you at now, and what’s your Games-time goal?

DG: We haven't been publishing our projections, but what I can tell you is we have 100 million British pounds to raise throughout our commercial program, so that includes sponsorship, that includes international broadcasting rights, that includes our ticketing, merchandise and licensing as well. We’re really confident that we’re making the right progress in all those areas and are going to be successful.

ATR: It's probably too early for this, and I know tennis won’t be on the program, but can you get Andy Murray a role in Glasgow 2014?

DG: We're going to be announcing our ambassadors program, and there's a lot of great Scots out there. His performances over the past couple of years have just been fantastic, and his mother Judy Murray is also a big proponent of sport in Scotland as well. I'd like to think it’s all hands on-deck for great Scottish athletes to get behind the Games and to promote sport and promote the power of the Commonwealth.

ATR: Are these Scottish games or British games?

DG: That's interesting. Depends on who you ask.

The Games are being hosted in Glasgow, which is in Scotland, which is in the U.K., which is a part of the Commonwealth, and I think there’s a place for everyone.

Within a Home Nations context, the nations compete as GB here at the Olympics whereas they will compete in their own right in Glasgow, so it’s the one Games that Scotland competes in its own rights.

We've got some great opportunities to really celebrate that, and there are so many Commonwealth athletes that have really achieved great things at London 2012. Ian Thorpe the other night was saying "I'm not retiring yet. I want to hit Glasgow 2014". Sir Chris Hoy has talked about "Wouldn't it be great to do my swan song at Glasgow 2014?" There’s a real relevance and a real power behind that.

Interview by Matthew Grayson.

20 Years at #1: