The inaugural European Championships in 2018 will be Glasgow’s next international sporting event. Glasgow City Council is successfully building on the legacy and investment brought into the city by the 2014 Commonwealth Games. In a unique sporting partnership, these championships will be jointly hosted with the City of Berlin, where the athletics will be held. Athletes in Glasgow will compete in events in: aquatics, cycling, rowing, triathlon, gymnastics and golf; broadcast to a potential audience of 1 billion people worldwide.
So what does this mean for Scottish businesses?
AM Bid Services attended the Glasgow 2018 European Championships Supplier Engagement Event, ran in conjunction with SDP Scotland and Business Sport Glasgow held in the City Chambers to find out more.
The European Championships will bring substantial procurement opportunities into the City under a wide range of contract values. Tender activity is expected to begin begin from the summer of 2016, with the highest number of tenders coming out in 2017. Some of the goods and services issued will include:
- Technology
- Telecoms
- Power
- Event services (e.g. legal, ticketing, accommodation, digital media, medical)
- Overlay infrastructure
- Ground transport
- Communications
This event will be similar in size and scope to the Commonwealth Games in terms of athlete numbers; television broadcasting; support and social zones throughout the city, etc. One notable difference to the Commonwealth model is that there will be no Athletes’ Village; instead hotels will accommodate the 8,500 athletes and their support teams. In fact, there are several new hotel builds under construction in Glasgow to preparation for this. Utilising the elite sporting venues already in the city, the only new arena for 2018 is an Olympic Standard BMX Track currently being built in Knightswood Park.
Richard Brown, Executive Director of Development and Regeneration Services at Glasgow City Council said:
Major events are a vital part of our economy with thousands of jobs supported across the sport, creative and tourism sectors. The European Championships allows us to continue to build on these areas and also reach out to increase the trade and investment our businesses can benefit from across our core European Markets.”
What is clear is that new and experienced businesses will benefit from proper bidding preparation to navigate the substantial opportunities which will be available. AM Bid Services can help prepare for this upcoming tender activity, helping to win work in what is a unique and historic sporting event in Scotland’s history. Exciting times ahead for any businesses looking to bid for work at this significant international sporting event.
