Glasgow’s staging of the 2007 World Team Badminton Championships for the Sudirman Cup last summer generated £6.69 million additional expenditure in the city with £3.5 million of this spend from visitors from outside Scotland.

These findings come in a report commissioned by Glasgow City Marketing Bureau, EventScotland and UK Sport which is published today.

The report from economist firm EKOS Limited assessed the economic impact of the Championships by measuring the costs and benefits of staging the event which attracted 15,000 visitors from across the world to the city.

One of the most prestigious events within the sport, the Sudirman Cup attracted 1000 competitors, plus 500 team and event officials from 49 countries to compete in the eight day event.

Paul Bush, Chief Operating Officer at EventScotland, said: “Event tourism is one of the fastest growing industries in the world and the results from this report show that Scotland is well placed to capitalise on this trend as people travel here to see sport and cultural events.

“Public sector partners invested £745,000 to bring the Championships to Scotland and the economic impact of the event shows a solid return on this investment.”

Other key economic findings include that:

·         More than 100 jobs were created as a result of the event
·         The Championships attracted new visitors to Scotland - 38% of people from outside Scotland had never visited the country before.
·         Respondents rated the quality of their visit to Glasgow and Scotland very highly, with 75% and 91% respectively rating it as very good or good.

Councillor Archie Graham, Glasgow City Council's Executive Member for Commonwealth Games Delivery, said: "Thanks to the city's continued investment in its sports facilities we are more than capable of hosting world-class events and reaping the financial benefits they bring.

"Glasgow will continue to develop its position as the home of Scottish sport as we look forward to hosting the Commonwealth Games in 2014."

Scott Taylor, Chief Executive of Glasgow City Marketing Bureau said: “The success of The Surdiman Cup once again demonstrates Glasgow’s considerable ability in staging prestigious, international sporting events and bodes well for the 2014 Commonwealth Games.

“Badminton teams, associations and supporters from around the world converged on Glasgow last summer and found a city that was warm, welcoming and capable of delivering a pedigree sporting event in style.”

In addition to the economic impact to Scotland, the event was broadcast worldwide achieving more than 200 hours of broadcast coverage.

Community involvement in the build up to and during the Sudirman Cup was also a success. A total of 156 schools and 5000 children were involved in the Bank of Scotland Badminton Roadshows. Whilst the number of volunteers involved in the World Championships was close to 500.

Anne Smillie, Chief Executive of Badminton Scotland said: “The 2007 World Team Badminton Championships were acknowledged by the athletes and by Badminton World Federation Officials as the most successful yet staged.

“I am delighted that this outstanding sporting achievement has been equalled by the financial achievement that these figures demonstrate. They show that partnerships between Governing Bodies, Public Funding Agencies and Local Authorities can have a real impact on Scotland, both on and off the field of play."

NOTES TO EDITORS:

EventScotland

EventScotland is the national events agency.

EventScotland is working to make Scotland one of the world’s leading event destinations. By developing an exciting portfolio of sporting and cultural events EventScotland is helping to raise Scotland’s international profile and boost the economy by attracting more visitors.

For further information about EventScotland, its funding programmes and latest event news visit EventScotland.org

Glasgow City Marketing Bureau

Funded by Glasgow City Council with contributions from the private sector, Glasgow City Marketing Bureau is the official destination marketing agency for the city region and custodian of the Glasgow: Scotland with style brand.   It has a team of 43 people engaged in:

• marketing
• public relations
• conference, meetings and incentive sales
• event creation, management and marketing
• conference and event accommodation bookings
• ICT and finance and administration