The call came today from Craig Lear (pictured), Glasgow 2014's head of catering, cleaning and waste, at the Scotland Food and Drink annual meeting in Perth where it was revealed that dozens of wide-ranging services contracts for the Commonwealth Games – totalling millions of pounds – will soon become available for businesses to start bidding for.

Lear said that Glasgow 2014 aims to showcase the best regional produce to the millions of spectators and visitors that will come to Scotland throughout the summer of 2014 for the Commonwealth Games.

"For 25 days of the Games period, including the 11 days of competition, there will be more than two million meals made for athletes, team officials, technical officials, the media, the workforce, the Games Family and for spectators," he said.

"This is the biggest event that the Scottish catering, cleaning and waste industry will have ever seen and it's time to get excited about what opportunities will be available.

"The Games will be a spectacular sporting event which showcases the city and the nation on an international stage and the race for those in the catering, cleaning and waste industries in Scotland will begin in late 2012 when we go out to tender for dozens of contracts.

"The opportunity to win business, raise international ambitions and deliver growth could be enormous, but like the event itself, only the best will win gold."

During the Commonwealth Games, Glasgow 2014 are set to require more than 100 tonnes of fruit and vegetables, 10,000 loaves of bread, 60 tonnes of potatoes, 25,000 litres of milk, eight tonnes of cheese, six tonnes of eggs and over thirty tonnes of seafood, poultry items and meat products.

"Scottish food and drink is world renowned as high quality," said Scotland's Rural Affairs Secretary Richard Lochhead.

"Therefore the Commonwealth Games coming to Glasgow offers the perfect platform to showcase Scottish produce – as well as providing a fantastic opportunity for Scottish businesses to get involved.

"I would encourage Scottish companies to bid for contracts so that their products can help fuel athletes from around the world to success in 2014.

"The Games offer vast opportunities to put Scotland on the path to a healthier and more successful future and as a Government, we are already doing all that we can to ensure Scotland and Scottish businesses capitalise on this once in a generation opportunity of hosting a major international sporting event."

The services contracts are anticipated go out to tender during late 2012 and companies who are interested in finding out more about the opportunities available should register on the Business Portal. 

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