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Cosmopolitan Glasgow will be a ‘home from home’ for young athletes from across the world during the 2018 Youth Olympic Games (YOG) says Great Britain cyclist Sir Chris Hoy.
The endorsement from six-time Olympic gold medallist and 11-time world comes exactly 100 days till the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announces who will host the 2018 YOG.
Hoy, who was today unveiled as the latest Glasgow 2018 bid champion, said Glasgow would empower the next generation of young people through the Olympic values, securing a real and lasting legacy for the Olympic Movement.
The unveiling of Hoy as a Glasgow 2018 bid champion comes less than a week after Britain’s most successful female rower and Olympic gold medallist Katherine Grainger CBE, silver medal winning swimmer, Michael Jamieson, and Jade Jones, who won Team GB’s first ever tae kwon do Olympic gold medal, joined a growing list of high-profile supporters of the Glasgow 2018 YOG Bid.
Glasgow’s bid seeks to capitalise on the opportunities created by the London 2012 Olympic Games and the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. And Hoy is confident the city will do just that and complete an inspirational Olympic journey in the United Kingdom.
"Cycling has played such an incredible and positive role in my life, I really want everyone from a young age to be able to enjoy the benefits of sport."
Sir Chris Hoy
Sir Chris Hoy said: “Cycling has played such an incredible and positive role in my life, I really want everyone from a young age to be able to enjoy the benefits of sport. Going to a Youth Olympic Games is about competing against the best in your age group.
“It is also about education, culture and the Olympic values and Glasgow 2018 would spread the spirit of Olympism to the next generation in a multicultural, cosmopolitan city.
“In Glasgow, you will experience the true warmth, friendliness and inclusiveness of Scottish hospitality. Youth Olympic Games athletes of the world will be welcomed and supported by young people and fans in their native tongue with over a 100 languages spoken in Glasgow. Almost every young athlete will have a home away from home here in Scotland.”
Glasgow 2018 bid director Paul Bush said: "Our bid will empower and inspire young people and having the support of our greatest ever Olympian Sir Chris Hoy will ensure we reach out and inspire young people across the world.
“Time and time again Sir Chris has proved an inspirational figure when competing at the very highest level, not least at London 2012, showing just what can be achieved through sport. That inspiration is exactly what the world can expect from Glasgow in 2018.”
