Glasgow Airport the launchpad for city’s bid to host 2018 Youth Olympic Games
12 October 2012
Two teenage champions were given a rousing sendoff at Glasgow Airport today (Friday 12 October) as they flew out to deliver the city’s bid for the 2018 Youth Olympic Games.
As Glasgow 2018’s ‘young champions’ Mahad Ahmed and Jasmine Main flew to Lausanne in Switzerland to deliver the official bid document to the International Olympic Committee in time for the deadline of Monday 14 October.
They were waved off by Olympic athlete and Commonwealth medallist Lee McConnell, Leader of Glasgow City Council, Councillor Gordon Matheson, Scottish Government Minister for External Affairs and and International Development, Humza Yousaf MSP, and Chair of the British Olympic Association (BOA), Lord Colin Moynihan.
The Youth Olympic Games (YOG) sees athletes aged 15 - 18 competing in all 28 Olympic sports over 12 days.
Glasgow became the UK’s Candidate City for the 2018 YOG in February 2012 this year and the city’s bid has already won the support of the Prime Minister David Cameron and Olympians including Dame Kelly Holmes, Sir Chris Hoy, gold medallist rower Katherine Grainger and Glasgow’s silver medallist swimmer Michael Jamieson.
Lee McConnell, also a European and World Championship medalist, said: “Glasgow is a special place to compete in as an athlete so it is very exciting to think that the world’s best young athletes could get their first taste of the special nature of competing in an Olympic-styled event right here in front of such amazing crowds.
“To be bidding for the Youth Olympic Games after the wonderful scenes everybody enjoyed at London 2012 is a real opportunity for the UK to continue its Olympic journey and concentrate on the young people we all hope to inspire.
“Encouraging young people to be more active and to achieve their best through the power of sport is so important. In Scotland we are working really hard to make sure the Commonwealth Games in 2014 delivers this legacy for our young people and so to carry on to 2018 would be such a great opportunity.”
