Stunning images of Strathclyde Park and Scotland were broadcast to a TV audience of more than 1.4 billion people during the inaugural European Championships last summer.
Delighted council chiefs this week hailed the hugely-successful multi-sport mega event for showcasing the area to the world.
It comes as an official evaluation of the Glasgow 2018 European Championships revealed the substantial international exposure as it was broadcast on free-to-air channels across 43 European countries.
Councillor Jim Logue, leader of North Lanarkshire Council, said: “Once again, Strathclyde Country Park was showcased as a first-class international sporting venue to a worldwide television audience, and to thousands of visitors who watched spectacular sporting excellence.
“The warm welcome extended by our people and our volunteers to athletes, spectators, media and officials was outstanding and truly assisted in delivering an impressive event.”
In total, the media exposure for Scotland was worth more than £250 million in PR value, as millions of sports fans enjoyed the 11 days of aquatics, cycling, golf, gymnastics, rowing and triathlon – the latter two of which were held at Strathclyde Country Park.
The spectacular landscape of the park was broadcast to a 2.7 million peak audience who watched the mixed triathlon on the Saturday, and 600,000 who watched the rowing competitions. Olympic gold medallist Alistair Brownlee was one of the big stars who competed in the triathlon.
With online and social media coverage also included, the audience for the 12 sports across Scotland and co-host Berlin, who staged the athletics, reached a massive 2.9 billion in the key tourism and business market of Europe.
Across Scotland, more than 560,000 people, more than double the projected number, attended a sport session, a festival 2018 offering, or visited the hugely popular George Square, ‘Go Live! at The Green’ or ‘Go Live! in the Park’ sites.
Final attendance figures show 137,000 tickets for sport were issued, packing each of the 12 venues with roaring crowds to support the new champions of Europe.
Joe Fitzpatrick, MSP, Minister for Sport, said: “The competition will have far-reaching effects, not just in terms of showcasing our country and culture around the globe, but also in inspiring a whole new generation of athletes.
“The success exceeded our expectations and I congratulate all involved in this event.”
In total, 3103 athletes representing 48 countries competed during Glasgow 2018. They were accompanied by 3760 accredited officials and delegates, and an independent economic assessment showed significant amounts of expenditure from these visitors and participants, as well as millions of pounds of contracts for Scottish companies.
As a result of hosting the European Championships, there was just over £34 million of additional spend in Glasgow and Scotland, and an estimated £24 million of contracts awarded to Scottish companies, with £8.5 million of those going to companies based in the Glasgow City region.
