Hansard

I am delighted with the announcement that the cabinet secretary made about the facility in Largs. As she knows, I have had a keen interest in disability sport for a long time. It is entirely fitting that we take that step, building on what happened at the Commonwealth games and recognising that, although para-sport has always been integrated into the games, it has never been integrated to quite the extent that it was on this occasion.

It seemed to me that, from ScotRail renaming stations such as Springburn the witty and games-appropriate “Sprintburn” to the millions of people who bought tickets for the games or watched them on television, almost everyone was in on the biggest party that Glasgow has ever thrown. It was not only Glaswegians who were involved. There were athletes from around the world, games venues in Edinburgh, Lanarkshire and Angus and volunteers from throughout the United Kingdom and beyond. Perhaps I will say a little more about the volunteers in my closing remarks.

A quick glance at social media in the evenings helped to tell me which of my relatives and friends were in town for the games and which cousins were coming back to Glasgow from around the UK to watch the games. However, the prize for distance travelled in my family goes to a cousin who came from Tasmania to watch his two sports—judo and the triathlon—and could not believe the transformation in the city of his birth. Given that he is the same age as me, I must admit that he put me rather to shame. We can but aspire to do better.

It all began with the baton relay. The relay was always going to be important in my constituency because, alone of all the sectors of the city, the north was the only one that did not really have a games venue. I regret that, but the baton relay was the main opportunity for communities in the north to join in the fun and excitement—and join in they certainly did. People lined the route wherever the baton went, and special praise must go to Depot Arts in Possilpark, which really went to town with a programme of activities second to none. The 8,000 people who turned up at Springburn park to witness the final event of the day’s baton relay also embraced the event with real enthusiasm, and we enjoyed music and sunshine for several hours before the baton arrived.

The opening ceremony was just the kind of event that was needed, with enough—just enough—pomp to mark beginning of the games and plenty of self-mocking and joyous Glasgow humour, which allowed everyone to join in. The sight of dancing tea cakes will stick with me for ever, although I will probably not eat many in the future. I do not have a habit of eating them at the moment, but that is neither here nor there.

Much about that night is memorable. All the performers deserve praise, but the joy on Nicola Benedetti’s face as she played and the marvellous voice of Pumeza singing one of my favourite songs, together with the wonderful dancers from Scottish Ballet, will be remembered for a long time. The volunteers who danced their hearts out for more than two hours were simply great.

I was at the opening ceremony but I was rather far from the field of play, so I missed the fact that John Barrowman had kissed another male performer but, when I heard about it, it just gave me an excuse to watch the ceremony again. Well done to John Barrowman and to whoever came up with the idea of making such an important point without a lecture being delivered or a word uttered. That is truly a part of the legacy of the games.

Scottish Labour’s amendment also makes reference to the UNICEF initiative that raised £5 million from the audience and reminded us during the evening how difficult life can be for some children at home and further afield. I hope that it might become a feature of multisport events, or other sports events, in the future.

Then, of course, the games began. Every last one of our athletes—indeed every one of the athletes who participated—was remarkable, and many of them overcame great adversity in life to participate. The spectators cheered on the home athletes with great gusto and enthusiasm, but they cheered on other countries too, which was a joy to see.

I have a feeling that, if the bid for Glasgow to host the 2018 youth Olympics had been made after the Commonwealth games and not before, the outcome might have been influenced in Glasgow’s favour.

Our medal haul began on day 1 with the amazing Aileen McGlynn and her pilot Louise Haston adding silver to Aileen’s already impressive Olympic and Commonwealth games medal tally, and the Renicks sisters in judo leading a medal rush in their sport. The fantastic achievement of Hannah Miley in the pool began a games that culminated, as we know, in Scotland being placed fourth in the medal table with new records against the names of many of our athletes and our largest ever medal haul at a Commonwealth games.

We witnessed some amazing performances during the games. Time does not allow me to mention them, but they were truly remarkable. Nor does time allow me to mention every Scots athlete who won a medal—actually that is something to be proud of. I simply say, “Well done” to them all and to their coaches and families, who support them throughout the year.

The games began in glorious sunshine, but all too soon the weather deteriorated and we were faced with a downpour of almost monsoon proportions. Still the spectators came, with 120,000 of us lining the streets of Glasgow in the worst of weather to cheer on the people who were brave enough to compete in such conditions.

All too soon, the games were over, and now we must consider their legacy. What will that legacy be? How do we harness the enthusiasm for sport in our country that is a result of the games? Before the decision to bid was taken, a serious assessment was made of whether it would be possible to secure a legacy from such an event. The result of the study, which took the best part of a year to do, was that there could be a legacy, but it would have to be planned and programmed in from the beginning if it was to be realised. It is important that we remember that that was always part of the plan. Indeed, I think that it was a key factor in the success of Glasgow’s bid.

We have witnessed regeneration of infrastructure in the east end of Glasgow. The athletes village will provide new affordable homes as well as houses for rent. The tourism sector in the city has enjoyed a boom and is likely to be able to capitalise on return visits for some time to come. I hope that that will result in more jobs, with decent pay and good working conditions.

Unemployment in the east end of Glasgow remains stubbornly high, as it does in several other parts of the city, including my constituency. There are legacy programmes to try to counter that. I single out the apprenticeship programme that has been operating in Glasgow for some time, at a cost of more than £50 million. I have met a number of young people who have successfully applied to join the scheme. It is no exaggeration to say that it has made a difference to their lives and life opportunities.

A recent survey carried out for Glasgow City Council revealed that some two thirds of the people in the sample cohort in the east end who were out of work reported that they had a long-standing illness, disability or infirmity. How do we improve the health record of Glasgow and Scotland? Can that, too, be a legacy of the games? In my view, encouraging young people to walk or cycle to school, and giving more encouragement to people who walk or cycle regularly, would be a start. We have to start somewhere, so we could start there. Walking and cycling are not activities that require a great deal of infrastructure. People just need encouragement and the get-go.

What of sport itself? That is perhaps the most interesting and challenging aspect of legacy. In an article in The Herald this week, Doug Gillon, who I reckon has covered at least 11 Commonwealth games, made the point that there should be a process of debriefing, learning what worked and being honest about what did not work. He said that we should look at how and what we fund in sport, too. He suggested that such analysis should be done independently, to ensure its rigour, rather than by the institute of sport or sportscotland, praiseworthy though they are.

Doug Gillon has a point. We know that Scotland performed particularly well in some sports and perhaps not as well as it might have done in others. We need to look at that and be honest with ourselves and the athletes about why that happened. As we look forward to the games on the Gold Coast, as the minister has urged us to do, we must also consider that the home nations, I think with the exception of Northern Ireland, did better in the games than they have ever done. We have to wonder whether we will be able to achieve such results on the Gold Coast—I hope that we will—and we have to start preparing seriously for those games.

Before much more time passes, we need to harness the enthusiasm that was so evident during the games and to encourage the entire country to become more active, more often. Some kind of event this week or next week to mark the end of the games and encourage momentum might have been a good approach. The athletes parade in Glasgow on 15 August might be a fitting moment to show that the momentum will continue and the impetus is still there. The games might be over, but their legacy must live on.

I move amendment S4M-10736.2, to leave out from “welcomes” to end and insert:

“congratulates all the community groups and organisations that worked so hard to ensure that the baton relay was a source of celebration in their communities and a fitting precursor to the Games themselves; considers that the initiative of UNICEF and the Games partners, which resulted in £5 million being raised to support the children of the Commonwealth, was an ingenious project that will provide benefits for years to come; welcomes the determination of the Scottish Government and partners to continue to build on these strong foundations, driving forward a legacy with immediate effect based on the core values of the Commonwealth Games, humanity, equality and destiny, but which must also emphasise the need to encourage more Scots to be more active more often while continuing to encourage, support and develop the country’s athletes; looks ahead to 2018 when the next Commonwealth Games will be hosted by the Gold Coast; reflects on the further commitment and drive required to secure a lasting legacy that Scotland can be rightly proud of, and considers that the volunteers recruited to work at the Games should be a vital part of that legacy.”