Thursday 23 October 2014
In exactly one year’s time, one of the world's most prestigious sporting events will begin in Glasgow as the city hosts the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships.
To mark the occasion Claudia Fragapane – 4-time gold medallist at the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games - and Scotland’s own Dan Purvis alongside local schoolchildren and Councillor Matheson, gathered at Glasgow’s iconic Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and held flags representing the countries from across the world that are likely to be competing in the event next year.
After a fantastic summer of sport, with the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games hailed as the ‘best ever’, the city is now looking forward to hosting one of the world’s largest single sport events and showcasing the city to an even wider global audience. Commonwealth athletes who have already enjoyed the great Glasgow welcome, will be joined by gymnastics super powers including China, the USA, Russia, Japan and Korea. All are set to be part of the 2015 World Gymnastics Championships – ensuring the international spotlight will once again be on Glasgow for 10 days of world-class competition.
More than 500 artistic gymnasts from some 80 nations will compete to become world champion and secure their place among the legends of the sport. As an added incentive, the championships will serve as a qualification event for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
However, 2015 will not be purely all about the sport. After the success of Festival 2014 - the cultural programme which ran alongside the Commonwealth Games, including the three ‘live zones’ at Glasgow Green, Kelvingrove Bandstand and Merchant City Festival – the city will host a cultural showcase alongside the World Gymnastics Championships.
A fan zone will be set-up at Merchant Square and will include a big screen which will broadcast the event live, ‘come and try’ sporting activities, athlete appearances and gymnastics demonstrations. Official merchandise will also be sold within the fan zone. Merchant Square will also play host to the Closing Party. Other events and celebrations will be confirmed in due course.