The five-member Commission chaired by CGF vice-president Bruce Robertson of Canada (pictured top right with Glasgow 2014 chairman Lord Smith) inspected all aspects of planning and preparation in an intensive three-day visit of the Scottish city and declared themselves satisfied with how things are progressing.

"This has been an intense three days, as is to be expected now we are now just 455 days from the 2014 Commonwealth Games," said Robertson.

"Once again, we have had very productive meetings with our partners at Glasgow 2014 and we are very positive about the progress that they are making in preparing for the Games."

But despite praising the Organising Committee, Robertson made it clear that they will need to up the tempo as they reach the final stages of planning for the event.

"Glasgow 2014 is successfully making the transition from being a 'planning' to a 'delivery' organisation," he said.

"This shift of gears is dramatic: at this stage it is not unusual for there to be hundreds of decisions to be taken, from executing contracts and appointing suppliers, to operational arrangements.

"The next six months will be critical and our next Coordination Commission [which is due to take place towards the end of the year] will be our most important."

The Commission visit also saw members of the Gold Coast 2018 Organising Committee in attendance as they prepare to stage the next Commonwealth Games after Glasgow.

The Gold Coast 2018 team, headed by Organising Committee chief executive Mark Peters, followed the Commission in their work in a specially designed CGF learning programme that will run through to Friday (April 26).

CGF chief executive Mike Hooper, part of the five-member Commission for Glasgow 2014, said that the visit marks the first time that a learning programme had been put in place for a future host city during a Commission inspection.

"The Gold Coast now has their senior management team in place so this was an invaluable opportunity for them to come along and learn from Glasgow," Hooper told insidethegames.

"This really is the perfect time for them to come and it will be their last official visit before the Games begin.

"They will obviously be on the fully comprehensive observer programme during the Games but this visit is the first time ever that we have had a future host city sitting in with us on a Commission visit and it has worked very well for all the parties involved."

Hooper also dismissed concerns about the Glasgow 2014 leadership despite chief operating officer Ralph Ord being replaced at the Organising Committee after less than six months in the role by David Leather, who played a leading role in delivering the Manchester 2002 Commonwealth Games.

"That isn't a concern," he said.

"David is someone we know well from his role as deputy chief executive at Manchester 2002 and we are confident he will use his experience to make a significant contribution to another successful Commonwealth Games in Glasgow."

Glasgow 2014 chief executive David Grevemberg welcomed the comments of the Commission but stressed that the Organising Committee will continue to work hard in the lead up to the Commonwealth Games.


"We are confident in the progress we have made," said Grevemberg.

"However, there is still a great deal of work to be done and there continues to be no sense of complacency on our part.

"Our sights are fixed on the finishing line that we all want - which is an outstanding Games experience for athletes, for spectators and for the billion-plus viewers across the Commonwealth who will share in an outstanding celebration of great sport delivered from Glasgow and Scotland to the world.

"We are focused, up for the challenge and we look forward to continuing with you on the next stage of our journey to deliver history-making Games of which Glasgow, Scotland and the Commonwealth can be proud."

Following the inspection this week, the fifth Commission visit is scheduled to take place in September or October this year with the sixth and final visit to come in March or April next year just before the start of the event.

The 2014 Commonwealth Games is due to take place from July 23 to August 3.

Contact the writer of this story at [email protected]


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