Scotland bid to bring Sudirman Cup back to Glasgow

BADMINTONscotland and partners today officially announced a bid to bring the Sudirman Cup back to Europe in 2017 for the first time since Glasgow staged the World Mixed Team Championships in 2007.

A partnership between badminton’s national governing body, Glasgow City Council, UK Sport’s Gold Event Series and EventScotland will deliver the bid to host the Cup in Scotland for the third time.

Glasgow first staged the Sudirman Cup in 1997, in a two-week spectacle at Scotstoun which also featured the World Individual Championships. Since then the Cup has become a stand-alone event.

BADMINTONscotland Chief Executive Anne Smillie said: "BADMINTONscotland and our funding partners have a strong track record of running world-class events in Glasgow ever since we staged the European Championships at the Kelvin Hall International Sports Arena back in 1992.

"Today we have a fabulous new arena which is perfect for world-class badminton. The Emirates Arena has already played host to the Scottish Open Grand Prix and badminton fans coming to the Commonwealth Games this summer will be able to see first-hand just how good the facilities are there.

"The Arena is certainly big enough to stage the Sudirman Cup and we all know that Glasgow have the hotels and restaurants of a high standard to meet the needs of the visiting teams as well as the many fans who follow them.

"On top of that Scotland fans know we have built a strong squad of players, with the current team defeating higher-ranked nations to finish top of Group Two at last year’s Sudirman Cup in Kuala Lumpur. Many of the current squad are young enough to still be competing three years from now for what will be the 15th Sudirman Cup.

"We will have to wait until the October meeting of the Badminton World Federation Council to know if our bid has been successful but the BWF are well aware of our track record in organising and staging major events.

"But the bid team will be working hard during the Commonwealth Games and at the World Championships in Copenhagen in late August to showcase everything that Glasgow can offer in staging world-class badminton."

Councillor Gordon Matheson, Leader of Glasgow City Council, said: "Glasgow’s Emirates Arena is a world-class facility which will host the badminton competition at this summer’s Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. I am confident that this event will fully demonstrate how well suited the facility is to staging prestigious badminton competitions such as the Sudirman Cup.

"Alongside its well established first-class events programme and its world class facilities Glasgow can also offer a wide range of fantastic hotels and restaurants to suit the needs of the visiting teams and the many fans who will inevitably follow."

UK Sport is investing around £27million to bring up to 70 major championships to the UK through its Gold Event Series by 2019 to build a strong legacy from hosting the London 2012 and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

Simon Morton, Director of Major Events and International Relations at UK Sport, said: "This bid forms part of UK Sport’s on-going commitment to invest in building a strong and sustainable legacy from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games

"The Gold Event Series has already helped secure 8 events in Scotland in the build-up to and following the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games.

"UK Sport will continue to play a key role in ensuring a strong legacy from both London 2012 and Glasgow 2014. Passionate fans, excellent transport links, thousands of experienced volunteers, a strong TV and sponsor market, plus a proven track record in staging outstanding major events makes the UK a perfect host for world class sport."

Paul Bush OBE, Chief Operating Officer for EventScotland said: "Scotland is the perfect stage for major events and this partnership is focused on bringing the Sudirman Cup back to Glasgow. We have a strong global reputation as a major events destination and a passion for badminton that will provide the ideal platform for the world’s greatest players to excel.

Over the past decade, Scotland has hosted some of the biggest properties in world sport, and we are working hard to ensure that there is a continuing programme of major events post-2014. We have already secured three World and two European Championships for Scotland in 2015, and the Sudirman Cup is one of our main targets for the following years."

This year Glasgow will of course host the XX Commonwealth Games, as well as a leg of the prestigious IAAF Diamond League. Next year the city will welcome the World Gymnastics Championships, the IPC Swimming World Championships and the European Judo Championships. All of these events will build on past successes, which includes the London Olympic Football Tournament and the UCI Track World Cup in 2012.

ENDS

For more information, please contact:

Stuart MacKenzie, PR & Media Manager, EventScotland

Tel: +44 (0) 131 472 2286; Email: stuart.mackenzie@eventscotland.org

Notes to Editors:

UK Sport

UK Sport is the nation’s high performance sports agency responsible for the strategic investment of around £350million of National Lottery and Exchequer funding in Olympic and Paralympic sports preparing for Rio 2016.

UK Sport’s Gold Event Series will invest £27million of National Lottery funding to support the bidding and staging costs of major events on home soil, as well as providing specialist support to organisers. Events are supported for their likely performance impact on GB athletes, but also to maximise the wider sporting, social, cultural, economic and environmental benefits.

The Gold Event Series will aim to bring over 70 of the world’s most prestigious sporting events to the UK, including 36 World and European Championships. This ambitious programme will support British athletes’ preparation and qualification for Rio 2016, while generating approximately £287 million of additional expenditure in host cities and regions and bringing over 250,000 overseas visitors to the UK. Events already secured include the 2017 World Athletics and IPC Athletics Championships to be staged in the London Olympic Stadium and the 2015 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships at the Hydro Arena in Glasgow.

EventScotland

EventScotland is working to make Scotland the perfect stage for events. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors. For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit www.EventScotland.org. Follow EventScotland on Twitter @EventScotNews. EventScotland is part of VisitScotland, the national tourism organisation which markets Scotland as a tourism destination across the world, gives support to the tourism industry and brings sustainable tourism growth to Scotland.

For information on the work of EventScotland, Scotland’s national events agency - www.EventScotland.org

For visitor information – www.visitscotland.com

For information on VisitScotland - www.visitscotland.org

For business tourism information - www.conventionscotland.com

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