After making Glasgow smiles better, Grevemberg prepares for his new role

The Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games was, undoubtedly, the best edition in the event's history stretching back to 1930, when Hamilton, Canada, welcomed just 400 athletes to its shores for the inaugural British Empire Games.

The event has come a long way since these early days, from surviving the Second World War to eventually settling on the name "Commonwealth Games" in 1978, again in Canada, although this time Edmonton, a candidate city for the 2022 edition of the Games.

The 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, saw the sporting programme grow from 10 to 15 sports as team sports were allowed for the first time. Participation also reached new levels as over 3,500 athletes represented 70 teams at the event.

In 2002, athletes with a disability were included as full members of their national teams, making them the first fully inclusive international multi-sport Games. This meant that their results were included into the medal count for the first time in history.

Melbourne 2006 saw athlete numbers rise above 4,000 for the first time, before the controversial and ill-at-ease Delhi 2010 blew this figure out of the water as more than 6,000 athletes made the trip to India.

Despite the history that precedes it, Glasgow 2014 was a bench setter for Games to follow. With 1.3 million tickets sold worldwide, over half a million people visiting the Glasgow Green for the duration of the 11 days and well over a million site visits per day on the Glasgow 2014 website, the Games were fully inclusive of the sporting community that surrounds it.

Glasgow 2014 has been widely regarded as the best Commonwealth Games ever
©Getty Images

Ironically, it is a man from New Orleans, United States, who sat at the middle of this particular success story.

A former collegiate wrestler who learned his trade with the United States Olympic Committee, David Grevemberg earned his stripes establishing the high performance plan for the US Paralympics Team at Atlanta 1996.

A career in the Paralympic Movement followed as he moved to Germany to undertake the role of executive director of sport and International Federation relations at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC), where he also served as sports director from 1999 to 2007.

Modest at heart, optimistic by nature, is Grevemberg. A stalwart in his support for the Games with a passion matched by very few in the sporting movement.

Grevemberg has been chief executive of Glasgow 2014 since 2011 after joining the Organising Committee as the director of operations in October 2009 and progressing to chief operating officer in July 2010.

He played a pivotal role in making the Games the success they are today, but what is the secret?

Simple - "partnerships and people".

These two elements are the key to the success of not only the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games, but any major event, Grevemberg told insidethegames.

"Sport is about partnerships and people," he said. "It's about building these partnerships and connecting people to get the best out of everyone. It's the connection that we value. To have that connection and to celebrate together is so much more meaningful. It's very, very hard to celebrate alone.

David Grevemberg is the man at the centre of Glasgow's success credited for much of the success of the latest and best Commonwealth Games ©Getty Images

Sat in the Sofitel Hotel on Australia's Gold Coast, on the eve of the Gold Coast 2018 Coordination Commission, Grevemberg was able to give a full and detailed reflection on Glasgow 2014, more than two months after the event's close.

"I'm really proud of what we accomplished," he said. "I'm proud of the people of Glasgow for doing what we always knew they could do. We tried throughout our journey wherever possible to stay true to the people of Glasgow and they stayed true to the Games. They inspired me and captured my imagination about a world that could be. And this is a city that has history, tradition, heritage, some just absolutely brilliant, some uncomfortable, but it's a city that's not afraid to talk about it, and that I think teaches us all something."

This appraisal of the people of Glasgow has been heard across the Commonwealth since the end of the Games. From the friendly nature of the volunteers, to the heartfelt welcoming given by the city itself, the people of Glasgow have been at the heart of much of the praise when it comes to the Games.

Grevemberg's praise of the people was felt in their support of him to "be daring". To have the confidence and belief that what he and the team were trying to achieve throughout Glasgow was the right thing - the right thing for the Commonwealth Games, the city and the community that surrounds it.

"For me that's been quite educational or quite moving for me in the sense that as I move forward I will never hesitate to do the right thing and be daring and ask the tough questions and not be afraid of who we are," he said.

This was highlighted through the incident involving the demolition of the Red Road flats, which was originally planned to be part of the Opening Ceremony. After an online petition against the demolition gathered tens of thousands of signatures, the Games organisers chose to scrap the idea, citing security concerns and a lack of support from the residents of Glasgow.

Grevemberg described the situation as a great opportunity to show the people of Glasgow that their voices really counted, and that what they had to say would be taken onboard by Glasgow 2014 and actions would be taken accordingly.

"It was an opportunity for us to showcase to people that we value your opinions and this is an enormous opportunity for us to galvanise our support by simply telling people that what you say matters," added Grevemberg.

"We wanted this to be a moment of commemoration, this was an approach and a creative concept that we came up with of the phoenix rising from the ashes. However, what we found out was that there was a lot more behind the Games that needed to be talked about. And so we could be that platform.

"But what we ultimately decided was that if this was going to become a moment of protest and not a moment of commemoration and celebration then that wasn't keeping with who we are. And having the confidence to say, 'okay we need to move on and change direction', that's okay that's life.

"I still would say that the conversation that Glasgow had and the world had on this was great. People felt passionate about their position, felt passionate about the Games. That showed that the Games had value to people.

"We need to listen and we need to protect people."

The ability to listen, take on board and react to public demand and feedback is a major element in the success of Glasgow 2014 according to Grevemberg, as seen with the incident of the Red Road flats ©Getty Images

The task of heading operations for the Glasgow 214 Commonwealth Games was a journey in itself for Grevemberg.

He explained that the strong bid team and firm foundations were vital for the overall success of the Games.

Adversity was not a demon but a challenge to exceed expectation and an opportunity to turn the bad into the good, the impossible into the possible.

Adversity, he explained, was "the opportunity to remind people, 'this is who we are, this is what we're about and we're going to fix this. And we're going to move it on and it's going to be okay.'

"And that was great. No event worldwide is perfect, because life isn't perfect. Without adversity you don't establish character. So I have to say that we were very, very fortunate to have such beautiful momentum built and certainly from the time I came on I was really honoured and privileged to be a part of a Games that had such aspirations and a community and team that really wanted to do the right thing."

But when did he know that this momentum, this aspiration to do good, had materialised into something tangible. Something he and the rest of the Commonwealth could look back on and be proud?

"The moment I walked into Glasgow Green and a Clydesider rushed over to me and said 'Mr Grevemberg, Mr Grevemberg'," he began.

"She grabbed my hand, she was 70 plus, and said 'I've lived in Glasgow my whole life, and it will never be the same.'

"'Yes maam, why do you say that'

"'Take a look around. Do you see it?'"

"And I saw it. The smiles - everywhere.

"Private contract security, volunteers, police officers, cleaning staff, everyone was smiling.

"'That's right, the smile, we've created joy. In an anxious world, we've created joy.

"That stuck with me for the rest of the Games. I made a point going into packed venues and walking round and just seeing it. And when we got the 98 per cent of in venue spectators' satisfaction, to me we really raised the bar.

"I've been enormously proud to be able to play my part and being able to talk about this, reflect on it and share what it means and what it's meant to so many people. To be that voice has been such an honour and privilege.

"We created defining moments. Defining moments on the way to the Games and defining moments during the Games. It made people go, 'I was there.' And we had said so many defining moments; the culmination is just so powerful. Everyone had their moment."

David Grevemberg will now take over the role as chief executive of the Commonwealth Games Federation after former head Mike Hooper resigned earlier this year ©Glasgow 2014

Now the Games are passed and the Glasgow Debrief has run its course, the journey is not over for Grevemberg.

Tomorrow he will take to the lead role at the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF), replacing former chief executive Mike Hooper.

Although a new role for the American, he explained that many of the experiences and skills he has learnt in his previous roles, including that of Glasgow 2014 chief executive, will be pivotal for his success at the head of the CGF.

"In one way it's familiar territory for me," he said. "My time at the IPC, being able to have the perspective that I have now, having been a leader of a Games Organising Committee, being able to now take those experiences and reflect upon my former reference points, to now being able to reflect on my new reference points, it becomes quite powerful.

"I'm already seeing it. I already saw it when we had the 2022 Candidate Cities here and talking to them about some of the things we're talking to Gold Coast about. As a Federation it is our responsibility to uphold our ideals and our culture, our values, and to protect the interests of everyone.

"If there's anything, there's a lot of skills that are transferable that I've been taking on, but I think particularly now that I've got this experience I know when I'm working with chief executives or functional areas that are having a challenges the chances are I've experiences it so I can contribute to the conversation with a much broader array of experience."

His first major task in this new role will be the overseeing the preparations of Gold Coast 2018 as they get set to host the next edition of the Commonwealth Games.

That task began, in essence, during the Glasgow 2014 Debrief.

Although still working firmly in his "Glasgow shoes", Grevemberg was widely aware of the task ahead and used the sessions as an opportunity to adapt to his up and coming role.

"I want to get the best out of everyone," he said. "I want to get the best out of the CGF for putting this on, as it's ultimately the Federation that I'll be working at the helm. I wanted the Gold Coast to get the most out of this experience and all of its partners and I wanted my team to feel like they did everything in their power to finish this just as strongly as we started."

Looking ahead to that time, and in particular Gold Coast 2018, Grevemberg believes they have a huge opportunity to "make the most of the opportunity and do it their way."

On the back of the huge momentum Glasgow 2014 has built, the Gold Coast will be able to push the bar higher yet again and, in the words of Grevemberg, "do it in their own right and do it their way."

That is the key to success, he explained.

Doing a task in your right was what made Glasgow 2014 so unique and will be the formula needed to make the most of Commonwealth Games to come. No matter where in the Commonwealth they may be, doing it your own way, in your own style and with your own unique ideas will make the event special to you as an Organising Committee, you as a city and the rest of the Commonwealth as a whole.

"Make it yours; that is it," said Grevemberg. "Make it yours and run with it, and have the passion and the intrigue and the commitment and be innovative and make the difference."

Paul Osborne is a reporter for insidethegames. To follow him on Twitter click here.