Australian 'fiasco' ferry ordered to leave Edinburgh
The ship was built at a yard in Finland, but had to be moved to Scotland before winter over concerns it could be damaged by pack ice.A new berth to accommodate the ship, and sister vessel Spirit of Tasmania V, may not be ready until late 2026 or 2027 and the saga has sparked a huge political row in Australia.
The vessel was due to operate in the Bass Strait, between Tasmania and the Australian state of Victoria, and had been described as a "game-changer" for the island's tourism industry.However, it has seen a series of delays in its construction, skyrocketing costs and problems upgrading the current berths - mirroring many of Scotland's own ferry problems.Tasmania's infrastructure minister, Michael Ferguson, and the chairman of ferry operator TT-Line, which is state-owned, resigned due to the controversy in August.The cost of building the two LNG dual-fuel ships has risen by A$94m (£47.5m) from A$850m (£430m) when the contract was signed in 2021.Meanwhile the cost of upgrading current infrastructure in Devonport, which handles about 450,000 passengers a year, has more than quadrupled from an original estimate of A$90m (£45.5m).TT-Line was paying A$47,534 (£24,031) per week to berth the ship at Forth Ports, according to figures published by the Tasmanian government.Last week Australian media reported there was a possibility of the ferry being used to house Ukrainian refugees in Scotland.However the Scottish government quickly dismissed this saying: "This is not true and we have no plans to lease this or any other vessel for this purpose."
'Biggest infrastructure stuff-up'
Tasmania's transport minister Eric Abetz said that the government had done all it could to secure a lease that would benefit Tasmanians.He said: "We had an opportunity to secure an agreement worth tens of millions of dollars for the Tasmanian taxpayer, and it would have been economically irresponsible not to explore this."Previous similar leases provided more than €50m (£41.2m) to vessel owners, and it was prudent that we sought similar arrangements for Tasmanian taxpayers."The relentless negativity is hurting the state's economic opportunities, and it's time to move forward together."Tasmanian Labor, the opposition party, welcomed the "backflip" from the government but said it came four months and and millions of dollars too late.A spokesman said: "The ferry fiasco has been the biggest infrastructure stuff-up in Tasmania's history, but the cover-up has been even worse than the crime."
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Daily Mirror
11 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Managing Tottenham as Morgan Gibbs-White decision made and Daniel Levy calls in £120m favours
Mirror Football takes on the role of Tottenham Hotspur transfer chief in order to save the Europa League winners' summer after a lacklustre start to the transfer window While the other 'Big Six' Premier League clubs have burst out of the blocks in terms of their transfer activity this summer, Tottenham have been left in their dust. A Europa League final victory win in May salvaged an otherwise torrid campaign where Spurs finished down in 17th. Despite Ange Postecoglou's gamble to secure Champions League football paying off, the Australian head coach was sacked, paving the way for Brentford's impressive Thomas Frank to come in and take the reins. Yet, the north Londoners have done little to capitalise on the allure of the Champions League so far in the window when it comes to bringing in top quality players. The only big player Daniel Levy has brought in up to now is Mohammed Kudus, signed from West Ham earlier this month for £55million. Spurs had looked to follow that up with the £60m signing of Morgan Gibbs-White, but Nottingham Forest intervened, meaning the England international remains their player two weeks on. The Lilywhites risk falling even further behind their rivals, who have all made big improvements to their squads. Yet, all hope is not lost. There are still quality players available on the market which Levy can pull some strings to orchestrate moves for. Spurs don't need to address their goalkeeping or defensive departments either as they possess enough depth, meaning they can instead focus on other crucial positions. Mirror Football now takes a look at three things Tottenham can do ahead of 2025/26 season getting underway next month. End Gibbs-White pursuit The Gibbs-White saga has now rumbled on for 15 days with little to show for it. News of Spurs' pursuit of the midfielder came suddenly on July 10 when it was claimed that the move was at an advanced stage, with the player reportedly set for a medical the following day. That didn't come to fruition as Forest took issue with Spurs' attempt to activate the player's £60m release clause, with Forest accusing the club of an illegal approach as the release clause was meant to be confidential. Gibbs-White has since rejoined the Forest squad for pre-season, despite reportedly still wanting a move. However, Spurs would do well to move past the messy and seemingly endless saga, which has already stalled their other activity over the past two weeks. Aside from that, Gibbs-White is a player profile that, despite being a very exciting potential addition, Frank does not need. Occupying his favoured position already is James Maddison, who primarily operates as a creative, central-attacking midfielder, and was signed just two years ago for £40m. Flog star for Bayern ace Ahead of their tour of Asia this Sunday, The Telegraph reported that Spurs are still interested in signing Joao Palhinha from Bayern Munich. The report claims there is a strong chance they will be able to reach an agreement for the out-of-favour defensive midfielder. But Spurs are keen to first offload one of their current players in that position to facilitate the move, which would mark the first time they have paid a transfer fee for an outfielder aged 30 or older in almost a decade. One player that could make way is Yves Bissouma, who's now entering the final year of his contract. Palhinha established himself as one of the most consistent and combative players in the league during his two seasons with Fulham, bringing him to the attention of several big clubs, including Arsenal. The Portuguese has struggled with fitness issues since his £42m move to Bayern Munich last summer. Levy already has a good relationship with Bayern after selling talisman Harry Kane to the German champions and following Mathys Tel's recent move in the opposite direction. That could allow negotiations to unfold more speedily and successfully than the pursuit of Gibbs-White. Son out - Galactico in In addition to Palhinha, Spurs could look to splash further on £78m-rated Real Madrid winger Rodrygo. The Brazilian star, 24, has been linked with a Los Blancos exit in recent months following the arrival of new manager Xabi Alonso, which has left him unsure about his future. Meanwhile, Spurs legend Son Heung-min's own future remains unclear after an offer came in from Los Angeles FC for the 33-year-old. Rodrygo could therefore be a younger direct replacement on the left flank. Despite him mainly being linked with Arsenal and Liverpool until now, Tottenham are ready to join the race, according to Spanish outlet AS. The report claims Spurs may have to fend off competition for his signature, but also that Levy is hopeful of getting a discount on the forward, with no formal discussions taking place as of yet. Levy may look to capitalise on the good relationship he has with Real to get the price below £78m, with the likes of Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart all transferring between the clubs in the past. And with Palhinha expected to cost less than the £42m paid for him last summer, Spurs could get £120m worth of talent for much less if their chairman can work some magic.
Glasgow Times
11 hours ago
- Glasgow Times
Why Glasgow will have a Commonwealth Games to be proud of in 2026
The trip made a lasting impression on Batty, the chief executive officer of the 2026 Commonwealth Games who was the director of public engagement in his home town back then. 'It was our first stop,' he said during a chat at the games' Bothwell Street offices earlier this week. 'Glasgow has always had a strong reputation in the events industry. We came up and said, 'How do you do this? How do you put on a major global art exhibition?' We came up to figure it out. 'It was completely spectacular. We saw a city that knew how to host a significant event which the world's arts media were going to be looking at and shining a spotlight on. I have always had an admiration for Glasgow as a city since.' Read more: But will next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow be a cheap and nasty forgery of the joyous sporting extravaganzas which have been staged around the world on a quadrennial basis in the past? Or can the organisers somehow produce an eye-catching masterpiece which leaves onlookers gasping in admiration despite the myriad difficulties they have had to contend with and limited time they have had to work with? Cynics have not exactly been slow out of the blocks when it comes to suggesting the games will be a poor imitation of the magnificent games which were put on in Glasgow back in 2014. With good reason. They are, after all, only returning to this country because the Australian state of Victoria pulled out in 2023 due to concerns over escalating cost projections. There will be just 10 sports, not 18 like there were 11 years ago. They will be scaled-back, pared-down, produced on a significantly smaller budget. There is, to date at least, no broadcast agreement in place. But Batty, the Englishman who was the chief executive for the games in Birmingham in 2022, remains upbeat. A huge amount of work has already been carried out during the seven months he has been in situ and things are, slowly but surely, coming together. How next summer's unique event will look is beginning to take shape. Just this week, Eilish McColgan, the reigning 10,000m champion, was confirmed as an official ambassador and a unicorn, the national animal of Scotland, called Finnie was unveiled as the official mascot. The revised sporting programme is set to be released in the coming fortnight and tickets will go on public sale soon afterwards. He is quietly confident that it will be another memorable spectacle. Not only that, he believes the canvas which the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next July and August have been painted on to will be one which future organisers will look to use going forward. He is convinced they will ultimately secure the long-term future of a beloved institution which at one stage last year looked to be in very real danger of falling by the wayside after numerous failed rescue attempts. (Image: Colin Mearns) 'If you really go into what we've proposed for next summer and start looking at the individual component parts of what we've got over 10 competition days, you realise that it is actually a packed sport programme,' he said. 'There are 10 feature sports with six para sports within those. The actual medal programme is over 200. Yes, at Birmingham it was 281 medal events. But we will have a bigger swimming programme than there's ever been in history, a bigger track cycling programme, more para sporting competition than there's ever been before. So, when you come down to it, it will feel as big as previous Commonwealth Games.' Read more: Batty joined the Commonwealth Games team for Birmingham just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic plunged the United Kingdom into lockdown so he is accustomed to dealing with unexpected issues which arise during preparations. But he explains that the presence of the Armadillo, the Emirates Arena, the Hydro, Scotstoun Stadium, the SEC Arena, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow have made his team's task far more straightforward than it might have been. 'We had four years to organise the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,' he said. 'At the time, that felt like an accelerated timetable because historically you've had six, seven years to prepare. 'What we're recognising this time around is that by using existing infrastructure and by using existing venues, we're absolutely able to focus on designing the competition for the place that it's in. 'Yes, we're delivering these games in an accelerated timetable, faster than has ever been done before for a major global sporting event. But the great thing about Glasgow is there's a lot of muscle memory in the city. 'The venues, which were obviously a huge part of 2014, have hosted a lot of world championships and a lot of individual sport events over the course of the last 10 years. The people in those venues are ready. 'We're delivering over 200 medal events at four competition venues. The focus has been on how we ensure that we've got that kind of real electric atmosphere in those venues, that we're using them for all of their amazing strength and capability.' There was a very real danger that the 2026 Commonwealth Games wouldn't go ahead at all after Victoria withdrew little over a year after winning the right to host them; tentative expressions of interest from London, Malaysia, Singapore and Ghana ultimately didn't amount to anything. It is not stretching things to say that Glasgow stepping in at the 11th hour may have prevented the games, which were first held in Hamilton, Canada, back in 1930, from falling out of existence altogether. But Canada, India and Nigeria have officially bid to host the centenary games in 2030 and New Zealand are seriously considering at putting themselves forward in 2034. Batty is optimistic that what he and his colleagues are currently doing in Scotland will prove invaluable to whoever is selected in future and will help to safeguard the event for many years to come. 'I think Glasgow has reimagined the Commonwealth Games for a new era,' he said. 'It's going to be really important over the years to come that all nations continue to host the games. What we've done is create a format for the event that more nations and more territories can inclusively host. 'To see India, Nigeria, Canada, New Zealand all expressing interest in future editions of the competition, shows you the breadth of nation which will host. The approach that each of those will take will be slightly different. But I think they want to host this iteration, this version, this format.' (Image: Colin Mearns) Batty continued. 'When I think about where the Commonwealth Games might be hosted over the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years, I think it should feel very co-created with the city and the nation that's hosting it. 'That means leaning into existing venues, but that also means designing the footprint of the event around the most sensible way to get spectators around, really thinking about different ways of doing athlete accommodation, using the public transport network rather than having huge overlays of transport infrastructure. 'What we're actually finding is that the act of being more sustainable is delivering a more innovative and more city-specific format of event. 'That is set against a wider backdrop of major events that are getting bigger and bigger, but not necessarily getting better and better. We're seeing events costing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions, even billions, but they are still having the same number of athletes competing them. 'We've focused on how we can create a brilliant experience for 3,000 athletes here in Glasgow that is absolutely of an elite world-class sporting standard but can be delivered for £150m. That's transformational when you compare that to the £800m that was spent on the most recent edition of the Commonwealth Games. 'We've designed the event for the place that it's in. We're using all the strengths of Glasgow and Scotland. Three out of our four key competition venues are connected by the exact same train line and the fourth venue is within 17 minutes from a central transport hub. 'So we've got a much more compact footprint for the event. We're doing the operational delivery of a major event within an eight mile footprint rather than a 40, 50, 60, 70 mile footprint. That design change makes this event much more flexible, much more responsive to the city's infrastructure and much more financially sustainable.' Read more: Batty is unable to offer any predictions about how much the Commonwealth Games will be worth to the Scottish economy at this stage, but he does know for certain that a significant profit will be made. 'As part of Victoria's settlement, there was an opportunity for any nation in the Commonwealth to put their hands up and say they wanted to do the 2026 edition,' he said. 'Commonwealth Sport therefore invested £100m into that. 'Not using any public investment in the project means that when we're bringing sponsorship into the city and when we're bringing partner business investment into the city, that's new money coming into Glasgow. Then you'll have broadcast rights, ticket sales, merchandise and all the other commercial revenue streams on top of that. 'We haven't done the full economic impact study. But we're using 18 hotels for athlete accommodations. That's all money that we're investing directly into the hospitality sector, money that's going direct into the economy from that point of view. 'We know that we'll have around half a million tickets available for sale for people to watch the sport within the venues. So people will come out, enjoy the bars, the cultural venues, the attractions within the city. We'll have programming that will support that. We know that Glasgow owns an event in all its glory once it happens.' Batty added, 'There was around £800m worth of economic impact which came off the back of Birmingham. They did a one-year-on economic impact study and one of the things they also saw through that was how much it drove trade and investment. 'By profiling the city, by profiling the region and through the partnerships of the 72 nations back then, it drove a lot of people to invest in the city and invest the West Midlands.' Many world-famous sporting figures participated in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 – Nicola Adams and Josh Taylor (boxing), the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny (triathlon), Geraint Thomas (road cycling), Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Bradley Wiggins (track cycling), Greg Rutherford (long jump) David Rudisha (800m) and Usain Bolt and Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce (4x100m relay) all took part. It is far too early to say definitively who will take part next July and August, but Batty is, having liaised extensively with the 74 participating nations and territories since coming on board in January, optimistic that there will be another stellar cast in attendance given the feedback which he has received. 'There's a lot of signals that there's going to be some great athletes performing at the games,' he said. 'In terms of household names who are warming up to talk about the games, we're seeing more and more people coming out and saying how great it is to be back in Glasgow. We've had a great response and that will only build.' It is bitterly disappointing, and not a little perplexing, that sports like rugby sevens, field hockey, badminton, triathlon, squash, diving, table tennis, mountain biking and road cycling have been dropped from the Commonwealth Games schedule. Could the Glasgow National Hockey Centre not have been easily utilised? Or the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails? Weren't they purpose built for 2014? Batty outlines the logic behind athletics, para athletics, 3x3 basketball, 3x3 wheelchair basketball, boxing, gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, judo, lawn bowls, para bowls, netball, swimming, para swimming, track cycling, para track cycling, weightlifting and para powerlifting making the cut. 'We've protected those core hallmarks of the Commonwealth Games that make it special in the major events industry,' he said. 'We have been, for a number of editions now, a completely integrated sport and para-sport competition. It's not an Olympics where there's an Olympics and then there's a Paralympics later on. 'This is one of the things that makes it special and unique. Having the largest ever para-sport programme, I think shows we're continuing to invest. But it is the same with the sporting competition. There was a lot of care and love put into that 10 competition sport programme. It was designed so that all 74 nations could and would take part. 'When we've looked at inclusion, we've looked at para-inclusion, but we've also taken a really strong look at the gender parity in the medal table to make sure we've got a gender-balanced programme. 'You know, some nations send eight athletes to the Commonwealth Games and they've always sent eight athletes to the Commonwealth Games. We needed to make sure that even if you are the smallest of nations with the smallest of teams, you still stand a chance of winning a medal. I feel really proud that the 10 sports and six para sports that we've got reflect the Commonwealth.' Phil Batty OBE knows that much remains to be done during the coming 12 months and understands that significant obstacles still need to be overcome, but he is both confident and determined that Glasgow will have a Commonwealth Games to be proud of in 2026.
The National
13 hours ago
- The National
Why Glasgow will have a Commonwealth Games to be proud of in 2026
The trip made a lasting impression on Batty, the chief executive officer of the 2026 Commonwealth Games who was the director of public engagement in his home town back then. 'It was our first stop,' he said during a chat at the games' Bothwell Street offices earlier this week. 'Glasgow has always had a strong reputation in the events industry. We came up and said, 'How do you do this? How do you put on a major global art exhibition?' We came up to figure it out. 'It was completely spectacular. We saw a city that knew how to host a significant event which the world's arts media were going to be looking at and shining a spotlight on. I have always had an admiration for Glasgow as a city since.' Read more: But will next year's Commonwealth Games in Glasgow be a cheap and nasty forgery of the joyous sporting extravaganzas which have been staged around the world on a quadrennial basis in the past? Or can the organisers somehow produce an eye-catching masterpiece which leaves onlookers gasping in admiration despite the myriad difficulties they have had to contend with and limited time they have had to work with? Cynics have not exactly been slow out of the blocks when it comes to suggesting the games will be a poor imitation of the magnificent games which were put on in Glasgow back in 2014. With good reason. They are, after all, only returning to this country because the Australian state of Victoria pulled out in 2023 due to concerns over escalating cost projections. There will be just 10 sports, not 18 like there were 11 years ago. They will be scaled-back, pared-down, produced on a significantly smaller budget. There is, to date at least, no broadcast agreement in place. But Batty, the Englishman who was the chief executive for the games in Birmingham in 2022, remains upbeat. A huge amount of work has already been carried out during the seven months he has been in situ and things are, slowly but surely, coming together. How next summer's unique event will look is beginning to take shape. Just this week, Eilish McColgan, the reigning 10,000m champion, was confirmed as an official ambassador and a unicorn, the national animal of Scotland, called Finnie was unveiled as the official mascot. The revised sporting programme is set to be released in the coming fortnight and tickets will go on public sale soon afterwards. He is quietly confident that it will be another memorable spectacle. Not only that, he believes the canvas which the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow next July and August have been painted on to will be one which future organisers will look to use going forward. He is convinced they will ultimately secure the long-term future of a beloved institution which at one stage last year looked to be in very real danger of falling by the wayside after numerous failed rescue attempts. (Image: Colin Mearns) 'If you really go into what we've proposed for next summer and start looking at the individual component parts of what we've got over 10 competition days, you realise that it is actually a packed sport programme,' he said. 'There are 10 feature sports with six para sports within those. The actual medal programme is over 200. Yes, at Birmingham it was 281 medal events. But we will have a bigger swimming programme than there's ever been in history, a bigger track cycling programme, more para sporting competition than there's ever been before. So, when you come down to it, it will feel as big as previous Commonwealth Games.' Read more: Batty joined the Commonwealth Games team for Birmingham just weeks before the Covid-19 pandemic plunged the United Kingdom into lockdown so he is accustomed to dealing with unexpected issues which arise during preparations. But he explains that the presence of the Armadillo, the Emirates Arena, the Hydro, Scotstoun Stadium, the SEC Arena, the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome and the Tollcross International Swimming Centre in Glasgow have made his team's task far more straightforward than it might have been. 'We had four years to organise the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,' he said. 'At the time, that felt like an accelerated timetable because historically you've had six, seven years to prepare. 'What we're recognising this time around is that by using existing infrastructure and by using existing venues, we're absolutely able to focus on designing the competition for the place that it's in. 'Yes, we're delivering these games in an accelerated timetable, faster than has ever been done before for a major global sporting event. But the great thing about Glasgow is there's a lot of muscle memory in the city. 'The venues, which were obviously a huge part of 2014, have hosted a lot of world championships and a lot of individual sport events over the course of the last 10 years. The people in those venues are ready. 'We're delivering over 200 medal events at four competition venues. The focus has been on how we ensure that we've got that kind of real electric atmosphere in those venues, that we're using them for all of their amazing strength and capability.' There was a very real danger that the 2026 Commonwealth Games wouldn't go ahead at all after Victoria withdrew little over a year after winning the right to host them; tentative expressions of interest from London, Malaysia, Singapore and Ghana ultimately didn't amount to anything. It is not stretching things to say that Glasgow stepping in at the 11th hour may have prevented the games, which were first held in Hamilton, Canada, back in 1930, from falling out of existence altogether. But Canada, India and Nigeria have officially bid to host the centenary games in 2030 and New Zealand are seriously considering at putting themselves forward in 2034. Batty is optimistic that what he and his colleagues are currently doing in Scotland will prove invaluable to whoever is selected in future and will help to safeguard the event for many years to come. 'I think Glasgow has reimagined the Commonwealth Games for a new era,' he said. 'It's going to be really important over the years to come that all nations continue to host the games. What we've done is create a format for the event that more nations and more territories can inclusively host. 'To see India, Nigeria, Canada, New Zealand all expressing interest in future editions of the competition, shows you the breadth of nation which will host. The approach that each of those will take will be slightly different. But I think they want to host this iteration, this version, this format.' (Image: Colin Mearns) Batty continued. 'When I think about where the Commonwealth Games might be hosted over the next 10, 20, 30, 40 years, I think it should feel very co-created with the city and the nation that's hosting it. 'That means leaning into existing venues, but that also means designing the footprint of the event around the most sensible way to get spectators around, really thinking about different ways of doing athlete accommodation, using the public transport network rather than having huge overlays of transport infrastructure. 'What we're actually finding is that the act of being more sustainable is delivering a more innovative and more city-specific format of event. 'That is set against a wider backdrop of major events that are getting bigger and bigger, but not necessarily getting better and better. We're seeing events costing hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of millions, even billions, but they are still having the same number of athletes competing them. 'We've focused on how we can create a brilliant experience for 3,000 athletes here in Glasgow that is absolutely of an elite world-class sporting standard but can be delivered for £150m. That's transformational when you compare that to the £800m that was spent on the most recent edition of the Commonwealth Games. 'We've designed the event for the place that it's in. We're using all the strengths of Glasgow and Scotland. Three out of our four key competition venues are connected by the exact same train line and the fourth venue is within 17 minutes from a central transport hub. 'So we've got a much more compact footprint for the event. We're doing the operational delivery of a major event within an eight mile footprint rather than a 40, 50, 60, 70 mile footprint. That design change makes this event much more flexible, much more responsive to the city's infrastructure and much more financially sustainable.' Read more: Batty is unable to offer any predictions about how much the Commonwealth Games will be worth to the Scottish economy at this stage, but he does know for certain that a significant profit will be made. 'As part of Victoria's settlement, there was an opportunity for any nation in the Commonwealth to put their hands up and say they wanted to do the 2026 edition,' he said. 'Commonwealth Sport therefore invested £100m into that. 'Not using any public investment in the project means that when we're bringing sponsorship into the city and when we're bringing partner business investment into the city, that's new money coming into Glasgow. Then you'll have broadcast rights, ticket sales, merchandise and all the other commercial revenue streams on top of that. 'We haven't done the full economic impact study. But we're using 18 hotels for athlete accommodations. That's all money that we're investing directly into the hospitality sector, money that's going direct into the economy from that point of view. 'We know that we'll have around half a million tickets available for sale for people to watch the sport within the venues. So people will come out, enjoy the bars, the cultural venues, the attractions within the city. We'll have programming that will support that. We know that Glasgow owns an event in all its glory once it happens.' Batty added, 'There was around £800m worth of economic impact which came off the back of Birmingham. They did a one-year-on economic impact study and one of the things they also saw through that was how much it drove trade and investment. 'By profiling the city, by profiling the region and through the partnerships of the 72 nations back then, it drove a lot of people to invest in the city and invest the West Midlands.' Many world-famous sporting figures participated in the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in 2014 – Nicola Adams and Josh Taylor (boxing), the Brownlee brothers, Alistair and Jonny (triathlon), Geraint Thomas (road cycling), Jason Kenny, Laura Trott and Bradley Wiggins (track cycling), Greg Rutherford (long jump) David Rudisha (800m) and Usain Bolt and Shelley-Ann Fraser-Pryce (4x100m relay) all took part. It is far too early to say definitively who will take part next July and August, but Batty is, having liaised extensively with the 74 participating nations and territories since coming on board in January, optimistic that there will be another stellar cast in attendance given the feedback which he has received. 'There's a lot of signals that there's going to be some great athletes performing at the games,' he said. 'In terms of household names who are warming up to talk about the games, we're seeing more and more people coming out and saying how great it is to be back in Glasgow. We've had a great response and that will only build.' It is bitterly disappointing, and not a little perplexing, that sports like rugby sevens, field hockey, badminton, triathlon, squash, diving, table tennis, mountain biking and road cycling have been dropped from the Commonwealth Games schedule. Could the Glasgow National Hockey Centre not have been easily utilised? Or the Cathkin Braes Mountain Bike Trails? Weren't they purpose built for 2014? Batty outlines the logic behind athletics, para athletics, 3x3 basketball, 3x3 wheelchair basketball, boxing, gymnastics, artistic gymnastics, judo, lawn bowls, para bowls, netball, swimming, para swimming, track cycling, para track cycling, weightlifting and para powerlifting making the cut. 'We've protected those core hallmarks of the Commonwealth Games that make it special in the major events industry,' he said. 'We have been, for a number of editions now, a completely integrated sport and para-sport competition. It's not an Olympics where there's an Olympics and then there's a Paralympics later on. 'This is one of the things that makes it special and unique. Having the largest ever para-sport programme, I think shows we're continuing to invest. But it is the same with the sporting competition. There was a lot of care and love put into that 10 competition sport programme. It was designed so that all 74 nations could and would take part. 'When we've looked at inclusion, we've looked at para-inclusion, but we've also taken a really strong look at the gender parity in the medal table to make sure we've got a gender-balanced programme. 'You know, some nations send eight athletes to the Commonwealth Games and they've always sent eight athletes to the Commonwealth Games. We needed to make sure that even if you are the smallest of nations with the smallest of teams, you still stand a chance of winning a medal. I feel really proud that the 10 sports and six para sports that we've got reflect the Commonwealth.' Phil Batty OBE knows that much remains to be done during the coming 12 months and understands that significant obstacles still need to be overcome, but he is both confident and determined that Glasgow will have a Commonwealth Games to be proud of in 2026.
